Awakening the Mind
by Spinny Peace
Summary: Rose sees twins on the way to Hogwarts, one with a odd ailment. Only Rose can help get a toxic herb needed to make the cure. Her cunning, however, is failing and only Scorpius can help. Can they put away their differences to help a pal in need?
1. Off to Hogwarts

_**~Awakening The Mind~**_

_Chapter 1: Off to Hogwarts_

_Here I go,_ I thought, _after the years of relentless waiting, I, Rose Weasley, __am finally off to the magical realm only known as Hogwarts._ Standing in front of the windows from within the Hogwarts Express made a ceaseless grin spread upon my face, even when the distance between my parents grew even more prominent with each waking second. I could only imagine the surprises in store for all of us, being first years and all. My heart pounded inside my chest with the new excitement of the fresh adventures that awaited me in this dream- felt just like magic.

Would I have many adventures like Dad, Mum or even Uncle Harry at all? Of course I would, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I had an adventure in store. Though, I feared the exploits that lurked in that mighty fortress could have a lofty probability of death, or worse expulsion from that remarkable school.

All the numerous hours of practicing spells in the midst of Mum to get me ahead of my classmates would have been for nothing if I got expelled. Dad constantly told me to do well, to be similar to Mum, or I would be sent to a muggle school to remain in excruciating suspense to fully comprehend how to function a mechanical pencil instead of my familiar ink and quill that waited for me in my trunk.

The throng of the most recent first years filtered away from the transparent windows of Hogwarts Express. Comprehension flooded throughout my body, leaving my ivory skin tingling to the point of uncomfortable tremors. Mum and Dad were behind me now and there was no turning back. I have never been away from them for such an extensive amount of time.

My hand rested delicately on the windowpane in the hall of the coach, close to the exit which allowed the winds to thrash around my scarlet waves continuously as I stood staring out the window in the corridor. The landscape flew past me at incredible speeds, the colors blending to a harmonious animated portrait which would be a familiar spectacle after I reached Hogwarts.

My visions of the fleeting scenery were short lived. A yank on my new Hogwarts skirts conveyed my mind to return to my normal state of consciousness. I gazed down to see a homely house-elf at my knee. This house-elf looked like the eldest in the train with unfathomable wrinkles encircling his face like snakes and the fickle gait he held beside me. While the younger house-elves gave students snacks, this one was not; I was accurate to presume this house-elf was responsible for the others.

"Koons needs to tell Miss to sit down," he started with an abrasive voice which was feeble and faint, "Miss needs to find a seat in one of the cabins or Koons will not get supper." The house-elf, whom I figured was named Koons, gazed up at me with his huge eyes pleadingly. I performed a curt nod and left my post at the window to stride along the vacant passageway trying to locate an available bench to sit on.

Every diminutive compartment I passed contained eager students who were prepared for an additional year at Hogwarts, but all seats were occupied. Finally, I came across a single area with two boys who appeared to be second years, both embellished with the Ravenclaw uniform of blue ties that drooped insecurely around their necks and robes that had the Ravenclaw emblem patched to the left breast. The one characteristic that caught my eye from these two blonde boys was that they were approximately exact mirror images of the other. Twins.

I hesitantly opened the glass sliding door to be seated next to one of the boys who was flipping robotically through the latest edition of _The Quibbler_ upside-down. My Mum always loathed _The Quibbler,_ constantly referring to it as a "lunatic rag," but I continually found some articles rather interesting; but most rubbish nonetheless.

The other twin fumbled in his pocket to draw out a pair of incongruous Spectrespecs and sliding them on top of his nose, the diverse color lens made being nonchalant impossible. This twin made me feel very distressed. His eyes were probing me, examining every inch of my pallid skin sending goose bumps to surface my skin. After few moments of being surveyed, the Ravenclaw removed the Spectrespecs from his face to grab my hand to shake zealously.

"Sorry about that, I was checking you for wrackspurts. Never can be too careful with them around ya' know." I swiftly covered my mystification with a spurious smile.

"I hope I had none." I said trying to maintain the conversation, "I'm Rose Weasley, by the way." His face lit up happily as he brushed his light-colored hair away from his eyes.

"My mum used to hang out often with your parents when they went to Hogwarts. I'm Lysander Scamander and this is my brother Lorcan," He said whilst indicating toward his twin reading _The Quibbler_, "Luna Lovegood is our mum." At that moment, Lorcan jumped up from his seat on the bench, the tabloid dropped to the floor as he glanced at me for the first time.

"Bloody 'ell! When did you get here?" Lorcan was gazing at me now, his chest pumping up and down with each swallow of air. His sandy blonde hair tossed raucously into his eyes.

"Just ignore him, I always do." Lysander rolled his icy blue eyes at his lookalike.

"You can't disregard me! How did she get in here, I need to know!" Panic flickered through his eyes. Could he really not recall me entering and sitting next to him on the bench? How was that probable? I don't know, but the least I could do was remind him.

"I came in like everybody else, through the door," I replied indicating to the glass slider behind me.

"Wait, more people entered before?" Lorcan became frantic. Distress filled him to the extent of his mind.

"No, no, no," I quickly countered, "just me. I only used the door." I pushed a lock of my fiery orange hair behind my ear.

Lorcan's breathing decelerated back to normal and he sat back down in his original situation and obscured his face back in his issue of _The Quibbler _with a red-ish tinge emerging across his face.

* * *

"We have no idea what's up with him," Lysander started awhile afterward, "But Mum has a theory that Lorcan's got one mighty wrackspurt wedged in him. When we arrive at Hogwarts I'm hoping to raid Professor Slughorn's potion closet for some powdered moonstone to help fabricate a Draught of Peace potion to stop his memory lapses or whatever he's having. I don't believe he has a wrackspurt if I can't see it with my Spectrespecs." He turned to face his twin who was now engulfed in sleep by the window.

"Don't you also need some syrup of hellebore to successfully concoct a Draught of Peace potion?" I replied keeping the conversation going. Lysander looked at me questioningly then reached above his brother to heave down his trunk. He rapidly opened his trunk to reveal many robes and ties to match and prodded around each article looking for something. It was not long until his edition of _Magical Draughts and Potions_by Arsenius Jigger, a common potion textbook for second years, surfaced. After flicking the pages to reach his bookmark he glanced up in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I do need that. How did you know?"

"My copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi__, _I guess. You could probably get some hellebore from the Herbology greenhouse or the potion closet, if you're lucky." Lysander lowered his gaze nodding with a profound look on his face and his blonde brow furrowed ever so slightly in intense deliberation. Then finally Lysander buried his head in his hands. "What's wrong?" I inquired.

"Hellebore; it's poisonous, at least the specie I need." His fingers migrated to his fair-haired tresses where he grasps strands, ready to pull them out. I repositioned myself so I sat next to Lysander on the opposite side of the tiny compartment.

"I can get it." The words escaped out of my mouth with no forewarning. I sought to cover my mouth with my hands and shake my head "no" but there was no chance of my body operating correctly after involuntarily offering my help, I was stuck to this pledge. I was about to get myself in a lot more trouble than I thought was necessary for a twelve year old, I trusted it would be worth it in the end.

"You can?" His eyes broadened and gave a sigh of relief. "I would give anything to get my brother back. Ever since the end of last year he was as anxious as 'ell, so I'm positive something was slipped to him."  
Right as he completed his sentence the Hogwarts Express let out an earsplitting shriek and of course not a soul could snooze through that. Lorcan awoke startled beyond compare.

"Where the bloody 'ell am I? And who are you?" Lorcan glared at me with accusation seeping through every word.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself to you, I'm Rose Weasley."

"Lies! How do I know you aren't one of those boggarts?"

"Well then I would be worried if you are afraid of a redheaded girl." Sarcasm grasps the words and flung them at Lorcan, his eyes widened with astonishment. He backed down with no questions asked. Eye contact was broken and now Lorcan refused to look at me, but I was fine with that.

"Don't worry about that. It's something he got to get used to, spend more time with us and he will remember you more." Lysander said trying to improve the situation. I retorted with a brusque nod.

A few moments after the initial screech from the Hogwarts Express, the shriek resumed and this time it was pursued with a complete stop. "Come on, First years! Firsts years, come on!" A thunderous booming voice rumbled through the train.

"That's your cue to leave," said Lorcan crabbily while flipping through _The Quibbler_.

"Remember, just ignore him." Lysander said, "Maybe you could get into Ravenclaw that would be beneficial, right?" A smirk appeared on Lysander's face. I snickered at the thought of me a Ravenclaw and not in Gryffindor like my parents, but said farewell for now and departed the room without another word.  
As soon as I closed that door another word exited my mouth. A Slytherin ran into me as I exited the room, knocking me to the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" I exclaimed sitting up enough to look at the perpetrator. The teenager beside me pasted a malevolent smirk on his face. His face was prominent and pointed, eyes were grey and mysterious and bleach blonde hair was slicked back with a smooth shiny finish. Of course he was also adorn with the proper Slytherin robe and tie, and kind of cute... in a bad boy sort of way- wait... how hard did I hit my head?

"Ever thought maybe you are the one who needs to watch where they're going?" He retorted spitefully.

"I don't believe I'm the one who ran into the other person!" Venom coated my usually musical voice.

"Last call for first years!" The voice bellowed again louder than before from the darkness outside.

"Well then, that's for you." The smirk was still fixed on his face and he promptly got up and sauntered away. Lysander took his place at my side, but more placid and reassuring.

"Yeah, Scorpius Malfoy can be a foul git." Lysander aided me as I leapt to my feet and I gave him a quick courteous and apologetic smile before sprinting out of the train to join the other first years right before they proceeded toward the boats.

One image danced through my mind; the collision. The genuine honest concern that was sensed in his eyes before impact; but after it was exchanged with an atrocious boorish visage, and that truly made that second year a foul git.

**A/N: Okay, this is my first FanFiction- EVER. It starts off right where the epilogueleft off and obviously in the POV of Rose Weasley. I put a lot of time into writing this chapter (though it isn't very long... =/...) Please review (and please keep the harsh criticism to a minimum... or none at all be better!) I really would love to know what you think! Oh and speaking of love, this is a Rose and Scorpius romance, with a twist. How can you have a story based on Harry Potter without action and excitement? So there will be plenty of that to go around! Also, I am not British so I am sorry if some grammar will be a little off. DISCLAIMER: I SADLY DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM THE HARRY POTTER FRANCHISE! ALL CREDIT GOES DIRECTLY TO JKR! :D**

_**~REVIEWS HELP THE SORTING HAT PICK A HOUSE FOR ROSE~**_


	2. Sorting it Out

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 2: Sorting It Out_

I wasn't long at all before the lake came into sight along with the tepid radiant light gleaming from Hogwarts' windows. The timber rowboats were docked on an aged platform that protruded into the mysterious lake. Lanterns glowed brightly from each boat giving off an aroma of sweet smoke. "First years find a boat," instructed the half-giant who identified himself to be Rubeus Hagrid, "quickly now, we best be off."

I hurriedly selected a seat next to my cousin, Albus, who was a nervous wreck like always, but this time had a tad more of an attitude. "Well, look who decided to sit with me." Albus exclaimed, obviously offended with my decision to find a seat on the opposite area of the train.

Albus' brown hair fell slightly over his chocolate brown eyes which intensified his emotions. "At least I'm here, Albus," I retorted hesitantly as the boats left the dock, "I could have wandered off to another boat." I cautiously lowered his gaze from Albus to my sneakers, clearly trying to avoid further confrontation. When Albus got infuriated or disappointed his emotions could get the best of him, like the time James and himself were in a quarrel and James ended up with a nice pig snout.

"How could you do that to me, Rose? It's our first time at Hogwarts and I had to sit with a group of students who will definitely end up in Slytherin, I don't want to be in Slytherin with them!" Sadness surged through him as tears trickled out of the corner of his eye.

"Trust me Albus, being in Slytherin includes being sly, which you are not." A smile grew timidly on his face for a brief moment then vanished.

"I don't know whether to feel reassured or insulted." A smirk placed itself on my face.

"I guess you will have to figure that part out on your own." Albus stared at the horizon contemplating what I meant for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts. But truth be told, I haven't got the slightest idea how he should take that during this situation. Fortunately I was easily averted from further thought by gazing at the diamond stars above, twinkling carelessly, giggling at me and my foolish response, but I wasn't afraid to snicker along with them.

* * *

Standing in front of the colossal doors to the Great Hall sent shivers crawling up my spine, what I felt was not trepidation, but anticipation. Getting sorted into my parent's house would make this the finest years of my life.

It wasn't long after the first years admiration of the stone corridor and the dull shine glowing from the candles, that an old women placed herself before us. Her grey hair proficiently pulled into a tight bun which was concealed by the presence of her pointed hat. Her eyeglasses were mounted on the bridge of her nose with her blue eyes gazing down at us. She took a deep breathe, straightened her posture then began her speech.

"In a moment now you will be sorted into your houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family. You will be able to earn points for them by submitting good behavior around the school or lose them by breaking school rules. In the end of the school year, I, Professor McGonagall, your headmistress, shall reward the house with the most points the coveted House Cup. I shall be right back in a moment" With that, the decorous women left her spot to enter into the Great Hall.

Commotion chimed around me as the mob of new students spoke with their friends boasting on the house they would surely be separated into. Albus swiftly slipped past the multitude of students to position himself next to me. "Kind of exciting, huh…" he said, "being sorted into houses…" Albus rocked back-and-forth on his heels, clearly anxious.

"There is nothing to worry about Al," I said cheerfully, "You won't be a Slytherin anyways. Even if you get into Hufflepuff Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry, your mum and dad, won't disown you. My dad even threatened to disown me if I didn't get into Gryffindor but he won't." Albus instantly calmed down. He brushed his fingers unconscientiously through his brown mane and then looked at me with his russet eyes for a moment. Albus then spontaneously embraced me in one of the firmest hugs I had ever experienced; even my arms were pinned to my side. I was shocked; this wasn't a normal thing for Albus, he was more the suffer-in-silence type of guy, but I allowed him to continue hugging while I awkwardly attempted to keep my steadiness until I was about to bash into a group of girls. "Al, you can let go now."

"Oh, right," Albus let his arms slump back to his side and instinctively a red color flooded his cheeks, "I'm sorry about that, but thank you Rose."

"No problem." A laugh escaped my mouth and soon Albus joined in until Professor McGonagall opened the door to the Great Hall.

"We are ready for you now." We followed the headmistress into the long Great Hall. Two very lengthy mahogany tables were positioned on either side of the crowd of first years and I. Each table was occupied to almost full capacity, with some room available for the incoming students on the end. Most current students went about their own business and chatted with friends, though a select few turned their attention towards us.

The farthest table to my left housed the Slytherins in their green robes and obnoxious attitudes, but I couldn't help to notice Scorpius seated by his group of friends. For a moment he lifted his platinum blonde head high enough to make eye contact with me, his eyes still unexpressive, but definitely looking. Another brunette second year across from him snapped her manicured fingers at him trying to regain his attention which was successful as Scorpius shook me out of his mind to rejoin his cronies.

"Would everyone gather around here please?" Professor McGonagall spoke as she pulled out a shabby hat from behind her as we reached the front. Promptly she placed the hat on a stool that was positioned in front of all the students. "Please come up once I've called your name." she added before continuing reading from parchment from her hand. "Fuchsia Bones."

Eagerly, a small brunette scurried up the step and onto the stool where Professor McGonagall placed the decrepit hat on Fuchsia's head. "Hmmm," the ratty hat began, "I see much of your qualities. You would be most suited for… SLYTHERIN!" The students from Slytherin roared out cheers as she skipped down to her new house.

"Albus Potter." McGonagall scanned the crowd for my cousin who was stationary beside me. I nudged him firmly with my elbow which made Albus reluctantly continue up the set of steps to the Sorting Hat. Albus squeezed his eyes shut unwilling to look out to the sea of other students.

"Hmmm, not Slytherin, eh? Sounds awfully familiar, that thought. But this time it is tempting to put you there," Albus' eyes opened in shock as he look at me for help but the hat kept searching his mind, "but it is also tempting to put you in the others," Albus took a sigh of relief, "I know! You better be… HUFFLEPUFF!"

Albus' hopeful grin faded knowing he won't be able to go to the Gryffindor common room to see all the things his father saw before him. I felt horrible for him and gave an encouraging smile as he joined the cheering Hufflepuffs to only lay his head down with shame.

* * *

Many students were placed into their houses with a handful left to go. "Rose Weasley." All Gryffindor faces turned to me in suspense after the headmistress announced my name. Were they going to get the daughter of the former Gryffindors; Ron and Hermione? I had no idea, but I obviously prayed I would be placed there as I sat down on the old oak stool.

"Well, this one is more difficult," began the Sorting Hat, "Intelligence beyond compare I see here, brave, yet most definitely creative. 'Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure.' I see that fits you well. You better be… RAVENCLAW!" I slowly dismounted the seat, flustered, maybe even more so than Albus. I turned one more time to the students in the crimson and gold. I was meant for those colors. My mum and dad matured there, so shouldn't I? I sulked to the end of the celebrating Ravenclaw table as distraught as Albus. Even I couldn't help myself from laying my head on the mahogany table.

Multiple tears dripped down my face there had to have been a mistake, there must have. No other probable reason. I observed myself psychologically, just to giggle. I can't believe I was in denial I was never in denial! I smiled to myself and lifted my head to clear the tears from my red cheeks. With my new found happiness I clapped harder then any Ravenclaw as more first years came over to join me. If I wasn't going to be happy in my new house that would give Albus the authority to do the same and I wasn't going to let him waste the best years of his life in his dormitory moping around all day, I wasn't going to let him.

In the end I learned to grin and bear it. But, what was there to bear if I was delighted with where I was with my new 'family.'

**A/N: Yay! Finished another! (kinda short though... looked longer on my word document...) I'm sorry if this chapter isn't very intresting I'm only setting it up for bigger and better things! Please review because reviews= love! DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the charactors or settings, all of them belong to the amazing JKR! :D**

**~Review and tell me if placing Albus in Hufflepuff was fair (Hufflepuffs are loyal, values hard work, patience, friendship, and fair play)~**

**Thank you!**

** ~Peace**


	3. Secrets

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 3: Secrets_

"Now that our new students have been sorted," started the headmistress as she strolled toward the golden plinth, "let us start with some minor announcements. As always, no students are allowed in the Forbidden Forest. Also, schedules will be distributed tomorrow at breakfast. Any students eager to initiate the year with a strong start can begin earning extra credit by talking to Mr. Filch or Professor Longbottom for some errands they need done. I think I have rambled long enough, let us feast." With a brief wave of her hand, food materialized on every table.

Turkey occupied a huge serving dish and inhabited most of my plate along with the caldron cakes and desserts. The most delectable mash potatoes and gravy along with crisp steamed vegetables (that remained untouched by the Ravenclaws) also had residence on the table as our dinner. Too bad it went to waste as we seized as much sweets as possible. Most of the Ravenclaws went straight for dessert, scooping up as much ice cream, apple pie, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, jam doughnuts, Jell-O, and pudding that they could put their hands on. It was one of the best meals I had ever placed in my mouth, no offence to Mum.

The Great Hall smelt scrumptious by the end of the meal. With the aroma of the chocolate and pies that floated over our heads that mixed harmoniously with the fruits and pastries, it very tempting to snatch more even when your stomach was about to rupture. Even I enjoyed everything on my plate until my hand couldn't reach anything else.

A sigh of pleasure left my mouth as Professor McGonagall stood up at the podium once again. "Prefects will lead the new students to their dormitories while the rest of you my head back to your common rooms." With that as the conclusion of the meal, students started their departure.

Slytherins stood to leave for the musty dungeons. Gryffindors did the same but headed to elegant Gryffindor Tower. Hufflepuffs left next, to go to Hufflepuff Basement by the kitchens. Finally, most Ravenclaws fled to the west tower, Ravenclaw Tower, except for the Head Boy and Head Girl and the ten of us.

"Alright then, should we head off to the common room through the Grand Staircase," asked the Head Girl, Fiona Thomas, to the Head Boy, Henry Abbott, "or should we go the longer way to show them more of the school."

"No competition there, the Grand Staircase has more Ravenclaw history then the rest of the castle, literally, plus I bet they are tired from the long day they've had." In the end, we followed the Prefects into the Grand Staircase. "Rowena Ravenclaw, our founder, originally came to the conclusion to use moving staircases, so watch out, they like to change."

Stone steps lined the portrait-covered walls. Every portrait contained a wizard or witch from history. Some gladly chatted with us as we past by. Other portraits often whispered amongst themselves talking about the new Ravenclaws walking beside them. Gazing above my head, the marble staircases were willingly moving along for seven stories or more. It was quite an impressive sight.

* * *

"Come on, keep up, it's just at the end of this corridor." Fiona led us down the fifth floor hallway to end at a divider with a bronze eagle knocker. "Okay who wants to open the door to the common room?"

Every hand flew up, except my own. Why would I waste my energy to bang on the knocker that had no door to enter through? Henry looked at me with an eyebrow raised then spoke with a haughty tone, "Alright, all hands down. How about you Miss Weasley? Let's see if you inherited any of your mum's brains."

Hesitantly, I walked toward the knocker. What did knowledge have anything to do with thumping a knocker? I reached out a pasty white hand to grasp the knocker and bang it down. The eyes on the eagle shimmered blue and a mysterious voice rang through the hall. "Which came first," the voice inquired, "the phoenix, or the flame?" I thought for a moment at the century old riddle. What ever happened to the passwords? I would never know. Maybe the passwords were too simple to guess?

After a momentary instant the answer hit me, like being Stupefied square in the chest. "A circle has no beginning." I proclaimed, contently beaming at my answer as a section of stones opened to expose the circular Ravenclaw common room. I stepped in, my mouth as wide as it possibly could be. Every first year was mesmerized with me as they looked around.

The midnight carpet extended through the common room, contrasting with the blue wallpaper with the arched windows with the draped curtains that obscured the view of the mountains. The domed ceiling painted with billions of stars that almost twinkled in my eyes. One thing you can not miss however was the brilliant marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw with her restored diadem that was now horcrux-free for nineteen years.

"Nice job Weasley, you will be a great addition to the house." Fiona flashed me a polite grin as she strolled in to stand in front of us. "So, boy's dormitories are to the left and girls same but to the right, any questions don't hesitate to ask me or Henry." Then both Prefects departed to their separate rooms, leaving us to admire at the common room for a moment more before the first years went away to explore their new dorms, leaving me alone in the common room.

I had just sat down on the large cobalt couch when two familiar faces came down the steps, well technically one face with two owners. "Hey Rose!" Exclaimed Lysander as he sauntered down the steps to fall down on the couch next to me. His brother, Lorcan, glared at me again disapprovingly as he sat on the chair farthest away from me to grab a book from the mahogany coffee table and began flipping through the story. I couldn't help but to look at Lysander for an explanation. "Yeah, Lorcan is being a bloody_ git_ right now." Lysander said to me while emphasizing 'git' enough for his blonde brother to hear.

Lorcan glared at his brother with detestation burning in his eyes. "Am I the git around here now, Lysander," exploded Lorcan while he tossed the leather book back on the coffee table. "'Cause the last time I checked, I'm not the one sharing our plans with some girl you just met on the train four hours ago because, and I quote, 'she's cute!'" Lorcan didn't hesitate to add the air quotation marks to make his point.

Lysander stood up facing Lorcan, seething from his twin's remarks. "Is it so bad to except the help from someone who offered? Because the last time I checked you flunked Herbology last year and I got banned from the greenhouses! She's the only one who can get the hellebore for us without us having to tell another soul!"

"You know what? Whatever, go discuss _your_ 'plans' with her! 'Cause apparently I'm a bloody git who knows nothing about Herbology. And news flash: your talking about Potions here, my best subject, not bloody Herbology!" Lorcan's facial features softened from his ridged anger back into the smooth well-rounded visage until he gave us one last look of disgust before grabbing his book and storming up to the boy's dormitories. Lysander sat down next to me again, cradling his head in his hands.

"At least he still remembers me." I said submissively.

"Yeah, one good thing," he said while turning his head to the side to look at me through his crystalline blue eyes, "Ever since he stepped foot in Hogwarts he has become more defiant! At least on the train you could straighten him out and he would go back to his book. Mum intrusts me to keep him from having a fit in front of everyone. Being even five minutes older makes me in charge of him and right now I'm failing at keeping him calm."

"You're not failing! You just are finding the touchy subjects in his life so you can deal with them. I think I found two already; one: me and two: his jinx. Make that three, you also like me and he hates that." That last part made a grin broaden across my face.

"That was supposed to be a secret between him and I." Lysander nudged my arm with his elbow and smiled. I happily retorted with a light-hearted giggle. "Shut up."

"Never."

"Fine, if you won't shut up let's at least talk about the plan."

"Right, the plan. But before I do anything, you need to explain to me how you got banned from the greenhouses." Lysander pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He contemplated this for a moment then spoke.

"Okay, yeah, I'll tell you. But to understand my reason for getting banned you need to know the reason for Lorcan failing Herbology." I gave a curt nod, agreeing with his terms then he continued. "Lorcan is the master potioneer in our year and he got addicted to making these concoctions. Enough for it to be the answer for everything he did. So he spend all his time in the dungeons making potions, skipping his least favorite class, Herbology, so by not attending he failed that class.

"One day, during Christmas time, I found him in the dungeons and he told me he needed asphodel root for a potion he was brewing. So being a good brother I went to the greenhouses in search for it but to no avail. But I did find many pars of earmuffs on the table so I took one and wore it since I lost my other par; I thought it was my lucky day. I even realized that Lorcan was looking for a root, not a plant. So I started digging up every potted plant, still to no gain. But what I achieved was uprooting all the baby Mandrakes who were apart of our class the following day and were screaming so boisterously that I fled until Professor Longbottom noticed his earmuffs on my head and I got detention along with being banned from the greenhouses, well except for his classes." Lysander took a deep sigh then looked back at me. "Okay, that's it. Back to the plan?"

"Alright, let's hear it."

**A/N: Okay, this note is for this chapter.**** At this moment in time you might be thinking this is more of a Rose and Lysander romance than a Rose and Scorpius one. Don't worry it is coming up. I just need to start up the big plan before Scorpius can come into play. I think he is three chapters away max. So I'm writing as fast as I can to get the chapters out to get him in so sorry about any grammer mistakes. Also, follow the story to get all the juicy drama and don't miss out on Scorpy! Don't forget to… REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I would love to hear what you think!**

**And for a little fun…**

~**Review and tell me what you think the big plan should be! (make sure it is hellebore related and not romance related) :D~**


	4. Letters to Rose

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 4: Letters for Rose_

Lysander shifted on the couch to face me straight on; his blonde hair cascaded into his face, obscuring his sapphire eyes from my watchful view. I naturally moved a lock of my wavy red hair behind my ear as he began. "The plan is relatively simple, go to Professor Longbottom and ask to participate in some extra credit chores. If you're lucky he might give you a job like watering the Mandrake or something. Just snatch the hellebore then and bring it back here so we can turn it into the syrup."

He was right. The plan was relatively simply, at least if it went right. "What if the hellebore is not there?" It was a possibility, after all, it was the beginning of the year and so many plants were just in the process of blooming. "Also, why don't you just grab a vial of the syrup while in Slughorn's potion closet?" This was the question caught Lysander off guard but he quickly answered confidently like it didn't frazzle him.

"Clearly, if we steal the two main ingredients for a Draught of Peace from Slughorn he will notice someone is going to brew it and will be on high alert. We can't have that risk when we are brewing." I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes to ponder the possibility of getting caught. But as I feared, it would be incredibly easy to catch the culprit that way.

"Then I will steal it next week. We need to give the hellebore a chance to mature." Lysander nodded in agreement then bid me goodnight before departing for the boy's dormitories. It wasn't long after that I left for the girl's dormitories through my exhaustion.

I shuffled my feet across the dormitory's hardwood floor and plopped down on the unoccupied blue canopy bed. Beside me lay my trunk from the Hogwarts Express. I tiredly opened my trunk to pull out some pajamas to sleep in. As I pulled out my pajama bottoms a note fell out. My mum and dad probably left it in my trunk was the initial thought. So I just tossed it back into my trunk so I could change and fall asleep in my new bed.

I quickly threw on my flannel pants and a loose-fitting white t-shirt and laid down on the soft blue comforter. My wavy scarlet hair draped over the fluffy pillow as my eye lids began to give in. Lying under a bewitched canopy, which twinkled with stars and occasional comets, made it relatively easy to fall asleep.

* * *

_Hellebore. Just inches from my wanting grasp. A swift pluck and it will be mine. It was such a simple mission, almost too easy. I grabbed the stem of this toxic plant to give it a swift yank and- Azkaban? I was surrounded by crumpling stone walls and uneven limestone flooring, my hands and feet handcuffed to the wall. How did this come to be?_

_A chill rose around me as I pressed myself against the cool damp stone barrier, shirking way from the cool air that was swirling around me. All hope, all dreams, and all happiness in my body drifted away from existence into nothing. Violent shivers took over my body and my breath was visible in the chilly atmosphere. _

_A skeletal hand appeared from the opposite side of the rusted iron door. The entrance swung open with a little motion from flexing its fingers. I tried to run but shackles restrained me, chafing my wrists and ankles with every moment I attempted. Chained to the wall with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, would I live? I could answer that myself- no. I cowered against the wall as the skeleton with shadow robes hovered above me and lifted its hood. It began breathing in and with every breathe I died a little inside. It doesn't matter if I died from the inside or the out. It was still the Dementor's Kiss and I was surely dead as everything faded to black._

* * *

I woke up in cold sweat; a temperate sunrise was looming over the mountains leaking through the windows, to engulf the girl's dormitory. Would I go to Azkaban for just stealing some hellebore? It was for a worthy cause I believed, saving Lorcan from some sort of magic malady. I would prefer him tolerating me for more than five minutes, instead of the one minute yesterday evening. How was helping a friend's brother so bad? I don't know, I guess I will find out when we brew the Draught of Peace.

I was afraid to close my eyes again. I didn't want to relive that again. I would not be able to stand it! I hugged my knees against my chest and laid my head on top of it. Tears escaped from my eyes and collected on my pajama bottoms. I quietly wept in that position until an eerie tapping echoed from one of the windows.

Of course, like most people, I went to investigate. I quickly wiped away the tears from my eyes and scooted out of the bed. I followed the sound closely and peered out every window until I saw a snow white owl carrying an envelope. The owl was beautiful with white feathers that were speckled with light brown spots. Its eyes were like molten gold and were also very gentle.

Confusion flowed within me. Mail wasn't expected until breakfast but I slid the window open anyways and retrieved the letter anyways. When I accepted the letter the elegant owl flew up to the top of the west tower, back to the Owlery.

I glanced down at the letter I received with my name written in a fancy script. I walked down the steps toward the common room, still staring intently at the letter. Who would send a letter at this early hour? I took a seat at the comfortable couch again and opened the note.

"_Meet me at the Whomping Willow at noon, don't be late."_

It was an interesting thing to ask a first year, because mainly, I have no idea where in Merlin's name the Whomping Willow was! So at least I can conclude that the sender isn't a first year.

I wandered back into my dormitory, which was still in dim lighting, and made my way back to my bed. Pained shot up my toe as I glanced down to see it pressed against my trunk. Obviously I stubbed my toe on it. I hopped down on my bed and rubbed my toe until the pain was relieved.

I bent down toward my trunk again but this time I heaved it onto my bed. I opened it to stare at the crimson and gold things my mum and dad packed for me this year. Sadly I could never wear those colors. I lifted my wand from one of my trunks many compartments and laid out all of the red and gold ties, scarves, and crests on the bed. I pointed my wand at the objects and whispered, "_Caeruleus._" Blue sparks floated over the objects turning them the Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze and were now wearable to me.

I turned to place my new Ravenclaw uniform away when something caught my eye. The letter my mum packed in my trunk that I noticed last night. I pulled out the letter with new excitement that I was too tired to express last night. I extracted the letter out of the crisp envelope and unfolded it eagerly with a smile that spread from ear-to-ear.

My smile disappeared as I noticed the handwriting was foreign to me. I read the letter again and again. Shivers crawled up my spine again. This note made no sense to me but still the message it said could send a chill up anyone's spine. I folded it back into its rectangular form and shoved it back into the envelope. Then I placed the letter in the trunk and then rested my new Ravenclaw uniforms on top to conceal it from my view.

No matter how hard I tried not to think about it, the letter's words were still seared into my mind and I had no idea what to do about it. When I laid down for my last hour of sleep the letter kept repeating in my mind. Staring at the bewitched canopy as a sunrise appeared on the colth didn't soothe my active mind either. It still repeated:

"_DO NOT AWAKE THE MIND."_

**A/N: So it took longer than expected to write this chapter, writer's block. I was able to plow through it though! Also, it seems that my attempts to get reviews for this story are failing, miserably. So, until I get at least one review I won't continue to the next chapter (I will also be away for a bit, too.) Reviews would make my day, so please review. ****DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own any of the characters or places in Harry Potter, all credit goes to JKR! :D**

**Okay, last attempt to have some fun here:**

**~Review and tell me who you think wants to meet Rose at the Whomping Willow.~ ****:D**


	5. Whomping Willow

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 5: Whomping Willow_

The beginning of the day went by relatively fast. I woke up again, took a brief shower, and sported my new Ravenclaw uniform. Then we all went to the Great Hall for morning announcements, new schedules, and a breakfast of scrambled eggs and pumpkin juice.

While I ate in the Great Hall, a cloud of owls flew in carrying packages and letters for students. Many of the owls dropped the packages over the first years' heads as the new students caught them eagerly. A familiar owl flew down to me with a thick letter in its beak. The white speckled owl dropped the letter next to me then looked at me with its golden eyes before taking off again towards the Owlery.

The letter was from Hugo, Mum, and Dad. I opened this letter with the happiness that was meant for this letter not that bloody warning letter from earlier this morning. I tore the envelope to find three letters jammed in the tiny envelope. I took the top letter from Hugo and read it with my renewed delight.

_Dear Rosie,_

_How'd your first day go? You need to write to us and tell us which house you got into and all. No doubt you're Gryffindor like Mum and Dad. Dad said he would disown you if you aren't and I don't want to be an only child. Please write back, Rosie!_

_ Love,_

_ Hugo_

I quietly chuckled to myself as I set it aside to pick up the next note. I couldn't help but to picture Dad's face when I would tell his I'm a Ravenclaw. He would definitely turn red and march up to McGonagall's office with many complaints, but the Sorting Hat is always right and there would be no changing houses for me. I placed Hugo's letter on the opposite side of my plate before continuing with my parent's letter. I unfolded the next letter to read the familiar script of my mum.

_Dear Rose,_

_Your father and I already miss you. I hope you settled into your house alright. Hogwarts held some of the most adventure filled times of my life; no doubt your father had some adventures there, too. Like finding out that his rat, Scabbers, was really an Animagus. Very fun memories back then. I'm sure you will have an adventure there as well. Don't forget to write to us, Rose. Your father specifically wants a letter from you. Love you._

_ ~Mum and Dad_

No doubt I would have an adventure, I was already have one. I tossed that letter next to the one from Hugo.

The next letter that was waiting for me was different from the others. The parchment was faded and old. I hesitated as I began to unfold the last letter.

It was slightly familiar, I reconized it to be from the same author who put a warning note into my trunk. Now I had to worry about this person getting into my private mail.

My body wanted to cast the Incendio charm on it and watch the letter get engulfed with flames and burn. However, my eyes kept reading on.

'_I know what you are going to do. Don't go to the Whomping Willow. DO NOT AWAKE THE MIND!' _

* * *

"Ah, letters from your mum and dad, Weasley?" I quickly turned around to see Scorpius staring down at me.

"What do you want, Scorpius?" I said while stuffing the letter into my robe.

"Watch the attitude, Weasley," he said as he sat down on the bench beside me, but facing away from the table, "I might not say what I came to tell you." With that he leaned back against the mahogany table, staring at me.

"Fine, what did you want to tell me?" I asked as I organized my letters and schedule before standing up to head to the library.

"Where are you going?" he asked, confused.

"The library, that is, if I can find it." Scorpius hesitated for a moment then spoke.

"I'll show you then, come on." I could tell Scorpius was not happy, but he knew if he wanted to talk to me he would have come along. We left the Great Hall and walked toward the Grand Staircase.

"So are you going to tell me?" I inquired.

"Look," he said stopping me mid-stride so I could look at him, "I came to give you a message. That's it. Someone was looking for you by the Whomping Willow." My eyes widen as I glanced down at my watch.

"It's only nine twenty."

"I'm just the messenger." With that, Scorpius turned on his heels heading back to the dungeons.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Where are you going?"

"I've got other things to do, Weasley, like practicing some of my flying later."

"Before you go can you tell me where the Whomping Willow is?"

"You can't miss it; just go towards the Quidditch Pitch."

"Okay, now how do you know I'm a Weasley?"

"The hair, dead give away."

"Brilliant." I muttered as he disappeared down the staircase.

I walked towards the Quidditch Pitch, the warm summer air caressing my ivory cheeks. It was a wonderful day outside the castle. I sauntered down the dirt path until a rather large tree came into view, the Whomping Willow, I presumed.

I leaned on a mossy grey rock right out of reach of the Whomping Willow. I knew what it could do. Dad often told us about how he and Uncle Harry destroyed Granddad's car by driving it into the Whomping Willow. He got in so much trouble. Even got himself a Howler from Grandma.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked, but no respond followed. No one was there; no one was waiting for me. I pushed off from the rough rock and began to walk away when something hit me in the back. I staggered forwards and tripped over a protruding root, my wand leaving my hand. I was stunned, Stupified, more like it. I couldn't feel any of my extremities and to add to how bad my day was going, I was within whomping range of the Whomping Willow, I was surely dead.

The trunk of the willow began to sway, the branches flexing as the wind tossed around its leaves. _This is the_ _end of Rose Weasley,_ I thought, _bludgeoned to death by the Whomping Willow. _Just as I finished that thought, feeling was restored to my legs and arms.

I quickly crawled to my wand; it was an inch out of reach when I felt rough roots starting to cling around my ankles. I kicked franticly as I strained my arm enough to reach the wand. My finger just touched the wand as I was violently wrenched back by the Whomping Willow. I tried to hold on to the rocks around me, but the roots forcefully pulled me back. The rocks were slicing my hands as I was yanked closer to the trunk of the Whomping Willow. Even my head got a big gash from the force of the roots tugging on my ankles so hard my head jerk forwards. Also one of my ankles got bent in a funny angle that hurt beyond what I thought was possible.

I was only a matter of time before I was lying only a meter away from the trunk, this was it. More roots unearthed themselves and began wrapping around my legs and working their way up around my stomach. I screamed at the top of my lungs, praying someone could hear me. The Whomping Willow promptly wrapped one of its jagged roots around my mouth, muffling my desperate cries for help. I shifted around until I was completely surrounded by the roots of the Whomping Willow. The roots were restraining my movements now.

The roots began to lift me up, my exposed fiery red hair dangled lifelessly as I was elevated higher in the air. The roots began tightening around my ribs; all oxygen was squeezed out of me until two distinct cracks were heard. Pain shot up my spine as two ribs gave way and the roots loosened again. I lied about my ankle hurting the most, now it was definitely my ribs. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the Whomping Willow began squeezing again, more forceful than before. I was positive I could truthfully say I wouldn't make it out of this alive. I closed my eyes to try to at least die calmly.

"IMMOBULUS!" The compressing stopped as a male voice rang through my ears less than two minutes later. I opened my eyes. I was facing the branches of the immobile tree and sky. I was still suspended at least two meters in the air, I guessed. But that didn't matter if I was still tightly bound by the roots. "DIFFINDO!" the same voice hollered again, he was practically reading my mind.

The roots around me began breaking off. Bark was severed off its wood and fell to the ground, leaving me covered in dirt, still suspended in the tree. Less then a minute later I plummeted the two meters to the ground, but was luckily caught. My ribs screamed in pain as I landed in Scorpius' arms. Tears restarted again as I softly sobbed into his shoulder as he headed back to the castle.

Scorpius was stronger than I originally thought. I could feel his muscle flexing under his Slytherin uniform as he carried me back. His usually slicked back platinum blonde hair now had many strands sticking out riotously. It was a better look for him, I thought. Even his mysterious grey eyes hinted at his feelings. Scorpius really did care that I was hurt, and this time he wasn't afraid to hide it.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" A familiar female voice inquired. I couldn't even open my mouth to answer her query before my surroundings faded to black.

**A/N: First off, I want to dedicate this chapter to ****A La DarkAngel**** who gave me my first review ever. I literally danced around my room when I saw it. But back on topic… So this was one of my favorite chapters to write, obviously because of all the Whomping Willow action. So please REVIEW and make my day! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! ****DISCLAIMER: ****I don't own any of the characters or places in the Harry Potter books. All credit goes to JKR! :D**

**Topic to review about:**

**~Review and tell me who you think Stupified Rose~**


	6. Hospital Wing

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 6: Hospital Wing_

My eyes opened to see the painful brightness from the Hospital Wing lights. I blinked my sore eyes to adjust with the change of lighting. The Hospital Wing was empty except for another boy whose arm had been put into a cast. The stone floor caused footsteps to be amplified beyond the normal volume so going back to sleep wasn't an option for me.

I tried to sit up but pain burst throughout my body again from my ribs. I cringed at the pain before I settled at a sitting position just in time to see Albus running full speed towards me, in his new Hufflepuff uniform of course. "Hey Al." I said feebly.

"I came As soon as McGonagall told me you were awake. She said you were unconscious when Malfoy carried you in to her." That part made sense to me, but there were many questions that I had yet to answer; who was originally waiting for me, who stunned me and why, and how was Scorpius there at the right moment?

"Did you find out anything else?"

"Not really, all I was told it that you tripped in the Whomping Willow's whomping area. Near death, too, I suppose. You had two broken ribs, a broken ankle, a couple nasty bruises, and a sight concussion, probably. The roots almost crushed your lungs, also. In a way, your lucky Malfoy was there. Your accident is being called the worst Willow accident yet, I've heard. You've been out cold for a week now. Even _The Daily Prophet_ did a feature on it. It is quite exciting, really." Albus rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly.

"I bet it is if you're on the other side of this injury. I was asleep for a week?"

"Yeah, you actually did get some nasty head trauma there or something I don't know." I sat on my bed quietly for a moment then got the courage to as Albus something.

"Is Scorpius here?"

"Malfoy? I didn't see him. You should ask Madam Pomfrey when she comes back. Why do you want to see him anyways?"

"I just have some questions that are unanswered that I want resolved, that's all." Albus nodded his head slowly, trying to process what he just heard.

"You know if Uncle Ron finds out your being too friendly with Malfoy you're pretty much going to have a neck brace to match you ankle cast."

Laughter escaped my mouth as I looked at Albus. "Honestly, if I got a neck brace it would be one-of-a-kind since Madam Pomfrey already healed my ankle." I removed the covers from my feet and moved them around proving that they are fully healed. Embarrassed, Albus looked away from me. "Do you think you can get me a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ with my accident in it?"

"Yeah, no problem." An awkward silence commenced until he spoke out again. "Who's that?" Albus indicated towards the door with Lysander strolling in.

"That's my friend, Lysander Scamander." Albus nodded uncomfortably.

"Let me get you that article right now, I'll be back later." He hastily hustled out of the infirmary before Lysander reached my bed. Lysander watched Albus leave with a confused visage and I couldn't help but smile at his face.

"Interesting little Hufflepuff, you got there." He couldn't help but to chuckle at his own joke.

"Yes I do, my own little cousin actually." I smiled at Lysander shyly. "Lysander?"

"Yes? What's up?"

"I'm having second thoughts about getting the hellebore." That made Lysander's eyes grow into saucers.

"What? Why?" Lysander looked at me franticly.

"What I haven't told anyone about this yet, so please keep this on the down low, okay?" He gave quick nods as I reached for my Ravenclaw robe and opened it in the inside to pull out my latest warning letter, which was now a crumpled mess because of the Whomping Willow. I swiftly tried to get out all of the kinks and handed the somewhat smoother letter to Lysander. His eyes stared at the note in disbelief as he scanned it again and again. Something was obviously off with him.

"I, uh, really wouldn't worry about that, umm, right now. We will just, uh, stick with the plan for now. Can I take this?"

"Alright, just please don't show another soul."

"I won't." With that Lysander was gone, out the door, with his confident and with-purpose gait. I was left alone again until Madam Pomfrey visited me again.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked with a bubbly smile as she gave me some more pain pills for my ribs. "You were unconscious for a long time. I was just about ready to send you to St. Mungo's." Shivers flowed through me as I thought about being sent to St. Mungo's but I gave her a weak grin as I took my medication.

"Madam Pomfrey, did Scorpius Malfoy come in here at all?" I inquired innocently.

"Oh that boy! He would leave at all. He missed almost every one of his classes. I had to get McGonagall to give him a temporary banned from the Hospital Wing so I could take care of you more efficiently." A smile broadened on my face as I thought of Scorpius missing classes to check on me.

"When can I leave?"

"Well, you are almost back to normal so I believe you could leave now if you really wanted. Your ribs will still be sore but you should be fine." I hopped out of the hospital bed gleefully as I dressed in my Ravenclaw uniform. I cheerfully made my way towards Ravenclaw Tower.

I knocked the bronze knock once again and quickly answered the riddle with no problem. I ran up to the girls dormitories to see a pile of mail and my wand on my bedside table. I gazed at one of the papers, my schedule; to no disappointment at all I was missing Potions. I took this time to open all my letters.

Most of them were from my family who were worrying about me continuously. I promised myself I would write to them tonight and borrow James' Marauder's Map to find my way to the Owlery. Every note was like that; worry and well, more worry. Except for one letter that was not like the rest.

Another letter lay strategically on my pillow. I lifted the envelope and opened it slowly to see another parchment that was golden brown with age. I read the letter to myself to feel my heart sink. This would make it exceedingly more difficult for me now.

'_I warned you once, I warned you again._

_No consideration to make amends?_

_Let's see you try to snag that plant_

_When the professors know and you can't'_

How can I take the hellebore now that this mystery writer is ruining every one of my plans? What could I do now! I stuffed the note into my trunk angrily and threw away the letter overload my parents sent me.

I shuffled over to my bed gloomily and buried my head in my pillow. How could I snag that plant when the professors know and I can't?

**A/N: I understand this is a VERY short chapter. I basicly wrote it in about one hour... (yes I'm a slow writer =/) But I did enjoy my own little cliffhanger. I dicided this was how I was going to end it for now since I will be away for three days starting tomorrow. I will write more chapter and maybe post three more when I get back. Just think of the good things though, you can wonder about how Rose would get the hellebore, ore maybe one of the mysteries from the other chapters. So always remember: ReviewReviewReview! I would feel so amazingly happy to come back and read all of your reviews! DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters or places, all of that is from the amazing mind of JKR! :D**

**Think about it:**

**~Review and tell me how Rose should get the hellebore.~**


	7. World's Worst Thief

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 7: World's Worst Thief_

I laid on my blue bed, moaning as I crumpled my latest letter in my fist, listening to the satisfying crunching before throwing it into my trunk. My mystery author is making my life a lot more difficult then necessary. I now possessed three letters from him (or her, but the handwriting looks like a guy's.) That isn't the only mystery floating around my mind, too, like who wanted to talk to me at the Whomping Willow and tried to kill me? I definitely had plenty of adventure for every student in Hogwarts plus everyone in Hogsmeade a lifetime. Why did I have to ask for more adventure on the train to Hogwarts?

I glanced at my watch. Three thirty in the afternoon. I stumbled clumsily out of the bed and knelt next to my trunk. I took my crinkly letter and stuffed it in a side pocket before I dug around for my Charms textbook for my next class at four. My clothes got scattered on my bed and clumped into balls in my trunk. Note to self: put away clothes in the drawers and so forth.

The fifth floor corridor was relatively calm since classes were still in session. I walked to the end of the corner to impact with a Gryffindor. The Gryffindor I recognized immediately and gave a massive embrace. "James!" I cried. "I haven't seen you since at King's Cross." James cracked one of his signature smiles.

"Hey Rosie, I heard you got in quite the brawl with the Whomping Willow last week. And judging by the bruises," he said while indicating my prominent bruises on my cheek, jaw, and forehead, "looks like the tree won." His sly smile transformed into a teasing smirk.

"Shut up, I gave that tree a few more splinters then it would want around."

"Really? Professor Longbottom patched it up to look as-good-as-new."

"The Whomping Willow doesn't need to be fixed. I did. It will take me months to restore my balance again."

"Again? Don't you initially need balance to say 'again?'" He said jokingly.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny." I said sarcastically. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" a smirk then grew upon my face as James' smile vanished.

"I, err, have to meet someone." He replied sheepishly.

"Hmm, is that someone Fuchsia Bones? I heard you two are getting pretty friendly during your free periods."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Besides, she is pretty cute for a first year." He said while fantasizing about Fuchsia. That was a bit disturbing to say the least.

"Are you out of your mind? Aunt Ginny might kill you if you went out with a Slytherin!" Fury surged through James as I pointed out this snag in his secret relationship with Fuchsia.

"Well at least I can say I'm not going to get disowned by my father! I saw that Scorpius was skipping classes to be with you in the infirmary."

"That means nothing if I was passed out for a week!" I retorted as my flaming red hair frizzed around me.

"Whatever Rose, I have to meet Fuchsia soon." James slipped past me and was on his way to see Fuchsia Bones.

"Wait! Can I borrow the Marauder's Map?" I asked changing my tone to be more personable.

James didn't turn around, he just kept walking. "I don't have it anyway, so no." he yelled behind him.

Rage shot through me. He always had it, even if he shouldn't. I drew out my wand and pointed it at James. "Accio Marauder's Map." I whispered and as I suspected, the map wiggled its way out of James back pocket and into my hand. Stealing was easier then I thought. Getting the hellebore would be a snap.

I was about to walk away when I realized I could also take the invisibility cloak from him, too. I turned back to the retreating James and whispered "Accio invisibility cloak." The cloak attempted to squirm its way out of his pocket stealthily but to no avail. James reached behind him and grabbed the cloak before it left his pocket.

"Alright Rose!" He shouted down the empty hall as I hid behind the corner. "This won't be a fun year if we are fighting all the time! Just give me the cloak and map at breakfast."

I stepped out from behind the corner. "How did you know I stole the map?"

"Two reasons; A, I felt your spell go into my pocket to steal it and B, you just admitted it." A playful smirk spread on his face again, like our conversation about Fuchsia never happened. He tossed me the cloak as he left for Fuchsia for the second time. This event proved something to me; I'm not cunning or sneaky. Stealing the hellebore would definitely land me detention or worse, Azkaban.

* * *

Charms was monotonous. No matter how many classes I could skip I would still be ahead. While they were practicing their swish-and-flick technique, I was practicing my _Avis_ charm, even trying out the _Oppugno _command making my little bird familiars attack the Whomping Willow, though the tree always won. (I hold grudges, as you can tell.)

I left the classroom and ran to the Great Hall just as the last few students were taking their seats at their house tables for dinner. I sat at the end of the table, with the surrounding seats unoccupied.

"Hey, Weasley. Awake are we." I turned around to meet the gaze of Scorpius. His platinum blonde hair was not slicked back in his typical orderly gelled look though his hair naturally bent back that way. Personally, I enjoyed his hairstyle like that, it was very attractive on him and I hated to admit.

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey let me go early" I responded nonchalantly.

"That's good. It looks like you still have a lot of bruises though." Scorpius sat beside me, his body facing in my direction. His hands gingerly reached to touch my bruise on my cheek. He gently caressed it with his thumb. "Does it still hurt?"

I was staring at him. I loved the warmth emanating from his pale fingers, something you would never had expected. I sat there a moment before I spoke submissively. "No." I answered him.

"Ah, Miss Weasley. I see you're much better, I presume." Professor McGonagall stood behind us as Scorpius' hand retreated from my cheek. "Mr. Malfoy, why aren't you with your house?"

"I was checking on Rose." He replied, indifferently.

"Very well, hurry along to your table when you have finished." McGonagall didn't hover a moment more. She left to mount her great dais with her confidence and poise. As soon as she was comfortable she began her routine speech, though my attention was elsewhere. But I happened to catch one of her main topics.

"Earlier today we received an anonymous tip warning the staff about an herb could be potentially stolen. If you know anything please report to Professor Longbottom or myself…" I sighed deeply. My mystery writer was not bluffing about divulging our plan.

If I was to continue with the plan to pocket the hellebore I would need cunning, something I didn't possess, but needed. If I did I would have been placed in Slytherin. A grin spread across my face as I processed my last thought. I needed a teacher to show me how to be cunning and I knew just who to ask.

"Scorpius? I need a big favor." I asked him timidly.

"What do you need, Weasley?" He countered.

"Could you possibly teach me how to be cunning?"

Scorpius looked at me, raising one of his eyebrows. "May I ask why?"

I hesitated a moment wondering if I should tell him. "I need to 'borrow' an herb from the Herbology Greenhouses and now everyone knows about this and I'm not stealthy at all, I need your help." His eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

"If I help you I would be assisting a criminal."

"Please? You're the only one I can really trust." I added with innocence and my perfected puppy dog eyes.

"How do you know that?" he watched me with his grey eyes questioningly.

"You saved me from the Whomping Willow and I know you wouldn't tell anyone."

"Alright Weasley. I think I will help you. First lesson is tomorrow at noon, meet me in the seventh floor corridor" Then Scorpius got up and began walking towards the Slytherin table.

"Wait! Why there?" I inquired.

"You'll see, Weasley." He sat at his table as the feast began.

**A/N: Yay! We have some Rose and Scorpius romance surfacing! I'm so proud! Do you guys remember Fuchsia Bones from chapter 2? Seems we have a double romance blooming! ****So the next chapter I have already written on paper and I'm in the process of transferring it onto my computer. But I can tell you that it will have some suspense and surprise! Don't forget to REVIEW! Reviews make my day and keep the chapter coming! ****DISCLAIMER: ****People and places are all from the brilliant mind of JKR! :D**

**~Review and tell me a better name for the chapter because I drew a blank…~**


	8. Seeing Double

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 8: Seeing Double_

A couple hours after dinner, I headed down to the dark Ravenclaw common room from the girl's dormitories. I decided to keep my promise to myself and write to Mum and Dad so they would worry about me anymore. I found a piece of parchment on the table near the windows facing the mountains though they were concealed by the darkness of midnight.

"_Lumos_." I whispered as light flooded the room from the tip of my wand. I took a seat at the desk and grabbed the quill that was supplied on the table and dipped it into the provided ink. I began writing to my family.

_Dear Mum and Dad (and Hugo),_

_I am absolutely fine now. The Daily Prophet exaggerated the incident a bit. There is no need to worry about me, even if I have been in the Hospital Wing for a week. I only have a small amount of bruising on my face and arms, hardly worth worrying about. _

_Also, if the Daily Prophet didn't mention it, I got into Ravenclaw and I am quite happy in this house. The common room is amazing and the canopies over every bed are bewitched to look like the night sky. It is all very calm and exciting at the same time. I made a couple friends, too, like Luna Lovegood's sons, Lysander and Lorcan. I miss all of you and love you, too!_

_Love,_

_Rose_

I reread the letter again and I believed it would satisfy their qualms. I put it in a nearby envelope and wrote my mum and dad's name in my best script before putting it in my pajama pocket.

I took a look around the common room again. It was still empty of any Ravenclaws. It was safe enough to look at the Marauder's Map I thought. I pulled out the Marauder's Map from my pocket and unfolded the blank sheet in front of me. I took the wand from the table and tapped the bare parchment and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink blotches covered the paper, settling in random areas until words appeared that I could not help but read out loud. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present the Marauder's Map." I flipped through the map until I got to Ravenclaw Tower. A pair of footprints stood immobile where I was sitting, underneath them in an elegant script was my name 'Rose Weasley.'

I look at the dormitories where many footprints were stationary on beds. I even flipped to the boy's dormitories where I saw Lysander's footprints next to Lorcan's footprints. I swore those two never separated from each other.

Out of curiosity I flipped down to the dungeons where I noticed Scorpius' footprints were in the Slytherin common room, on the couch. I assumed he was asleep. I could only imagine what he was doing, for all I knew he could be writing a letter for his family. I also took a look at the girl dormitories. To no surprise at all, Fuchsia wasn't in her bed.

Next I flipped to Gryffindor Tower. I searched the map for James, but to no avail. He wasn't there either. I bet they were together somewhere. In a way it was kind of touching that James would sneak out for a girl. But then again, he would sneak out for any girl who showed any interest in him.

I decided I should be more serious and find my way to the Owlery. I opened the map to the Owlery, which was empty. Then I grabbed the invisibility cloak from my pocket and stood in front of the exit from the Ravenclaw common room. Before leaving I looked back down at the map. I gasped in surprise as I saw a pair of footprints. Lysander's footprints were wandering the Owlery! I flipped back to Ravenclaw Tower where Lysander was asleep in bed. It was impossible! How could that be?

I quickly tossed on the invisibility cloak and ran up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. Luckily all of the boys were asleep. I quietly made my way over to Lysander's bed and knelt beside him. His blond hair was a mess, but I ignored that and just tapped his arm a couple times. "Lysander, wake up!" I whispered so Lorcan and the other boys wouldn't wake up. Lysander just moaned and turned away from me. I sighed and pulled out my wand and pointed it at him. "_Silencio." _I murmured.

Then, I tried to remember a spell Uncle Harry told me he learnt from his potion book his sixth year. Sectumsempra? No that one was for enemies. Then I remembered and repositioned my wand to point at the silenced Lysander. "_Levicorpus."_

Lysander turned upside down and dangled by his ankle. His eyes flew open the moment he was off the bed. He looked like he was yelling at me but I couldn't hear him from the silencing charm I casted on him. "_Liberacorpus."_

Lysander dropped and landed back on his bed with the mattress creaking as he hit it. I quickly removed the silencing spell from Lysander but he just began shouting. "Bloody 'ell!" I quickly covered his mouth with my hand and lifted a finger to my lips telling him to be quiet then I removed my hand. "What in Merlin's name were you doing!" he whispered.

"I was looking through a map my cousin gave me and it shows you where everyone is in the castle and well, I saw you here in your bed and in the Owlery at the same time, see?" I quickly handed Lysander the map and indicated to the Owlery.

"I would love to say I see, Rose. But I can't." Lysander yawned and laid back down. I snatched the map from his grasp and search the Owlery for the footprints. He was right, there was nobody there.

"B-b-but there was t-two footprints; two p-p-pairs of your footprints." I stuttered in disbelief. I knew what I saw and it was him in the Owlery and asleep at the same time. "You have to believe me." I pleaded.

"I can't when there is no proof. Sorry Rosie." He explained. "I suggest you leave now or both of us will get in trouble for something that didn't happen." Lysander turned away from me and I was left staring at his back. I stood up and grasp the Marauder's Map in one hand and dragged the cloak with the other.

I was still in shock, I wanted to curl up into a ball on my bed, but I had to give the letter to an owl. In the common room I put back on the invisibility cloak and walked out of Ravenclaw Tower. I continued down the corridor until my footprints on the map were in front the spiral staircase to the Owlery. I followed the cold, damp stairs to the top of Ravenclaw Tower where the Owlery was located.

I walked through the entrance of the Owlery. It was covered with owl droppings, feathers, and mice bones from their last meal. It smelled awful, worse then anything you could imagine. The middle of the room contained the most vile that was collected into a somewhat orderly mound. The walls were lined with little alcoves for each student's owl, if they had one that is. Most students used the school's owls to deliver mail to their families.

I scanned the dark Owlery for and owl to send my letter to my parents. It wasn't long until I found a nice brown owl named Poncy to deliver my letter. I dug out my letter from my pocket and gave it to the owl who instantly took off towards the Burrow.

I was about to turn for the exit when a student owl caught my attention from across the room. It was snow white with familiar brown speckles on its wings. I sauntered over the owl whose name was Tybalt according to its nook. I gazed into the owl's molten ember eyes and then glanced down to its feet.

My eyes widened and my heart pumped faster as I saw another one. Another mysterious letter addressed to one 'Rose Weasley' from its owner- Lysander Scamander.

**A/N: What do you think? I think it sent a chill up my spine a bit. But anyways, I have been reading other FanFics and I notice how many reviews they get, like 200 or 300 and it kind of makes me upset that I only have 5. So I decided to try something another author does to get reviews. Until I get 5 new reviews I won't post another chapter. ****Once I get five I will upload chapter nine****. So Review, tell your friends, or something to get this story more readers and reviews! ****DISCLAIMER: ****Okay, I don't own the characters or places, JKR does. :D**

**~Review and tell me how Lysander could have been in two places at once~**

**Until five reviews,**

**Spinny Peace**


	9. Past Curfew

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 9: Past Curfew_

I opened Lysander's note and saw the very familiar phrase scrawled on it.

'_Do not awake the mind.'_

I sighed as put it in my pocket. I still didn't understand what that was supposed to mean but I felt like I should. I took out the Marauder's Map again and checked to see if it was safe to move to the Ravenclaw common room since it was past curfew.

I noticed a pair of footprints moving up the Grand Staircase and onto the fifth floor. Argus Filch was going to cut me off. I quickly tapped the map with my wand and said, "miscief managed." I hastily threw on the invisibility cloak and shoved the letter into my pocket while carrying the blank map. I ran down the spiral stairs while dodging the tiny pebble that could fall and echo through the empty hall. Every step had a chance of revealing my existance here. My heart pounded as I accidently kick a pebble down a few stairs, the echo was as loud as Peeves. I held my breath as I slowly continued my desend.

With great relief I hit the fifth floor. But so did Filch. Light gushed through the dark empty passageway as the old man feebly walked down the hall with his cat, Ms. Norris. (Since Mrs. Norris died of old age he decided to name his new cat Ms. Norris to make her feel young, even though she is ten years old, I've heard.)

I ran as quietly as I could to the Ravenclaw knocker. I reached out my hand only to pull it back. There was no way I could answer the knocker, it had a loud booming voice that would reassure Filch that someone was definitely up past curfew.

The light grew brighter as I stood in front of the knocker, trying to anylize my choices. I made a snap decision to hide in a nearby corner until Filch left. I huddled in the corner as Filch came into view with his thinning grey hair and yellowing teeth. I held my breath as he turned his rusty antique lantern to look right through me. Filch then turned and continued down the dark corridor, for at least another two meters, but Ms. Norris refused to follow.

I held my breath again as Ms. Norris sat in front of me with her black eyes and brown striped coat seeing right through the cloak. She meowed at me as I tried to press myself closer to the cold stone wall. Filch turned back to look at his cat. Ms. Norris then jump up onto my invisible lap, giving the impression she was floating as she walked on my legs, purring in accomplishment. "My, my, aren't we in trouble." Filch mocked as he pulled the invisibility cloak off my head.

* * *

I followed Filch into the headmistress' office where I took a seat on one of the three provided chairs. The office was large and circular with a sensual color palate of gold, orange, and red. The wall behind the cluttered desk was adorned with a picture of the old headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Bookshelves also where scattered around the room. Even a small Phienix had a residence in the elegant room. As soon as I took my seat, Filch set down the cloak and Marauder's Map on her desk and left to continue his patrol around the school and grounds.

McGonagall came into view with her glasses that mounted her nose and a tacky crimson plaid robe. "Ms. Weasley," she began with a surprised tone, "Why weren't you in bed?"

"Well, headmistress, I couldn't sleep knowing my parents were worrying about my current state of being, so I sent them a letter." I answered innocently.

"It isn't very wise of you to wander the school at this late hour. We are trying to protect an herb in the Greenhouses and you sneaking around makes it possible to confuse you with the culprit."

"Oh please, Professor McGonagall. I was only sending a letter! I even used a school owl, you can check if you would like." I frantically countered, trying to clear this misunderstanding.

"Very well, Ms. Weasley. I will allow you to leave because you were just released from the Hospital Wing. I suggest you stay in your house for now on."

"Of course! I will stay in Ravenclaw Tower when it is past curfew." As I collected the invisibility cloak and blank parchment from hMcGonagall's desk Filch entered again, this time with two students; a Gryffindor and Slytherin.

The Slytherin was a first year girl with long flowing brunette hair that was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Her eyes were also beautifully shaded with green and her skin was flawless and sun-kissed tan. She stood staring at Professor McGonagall expressionlessly.

I turned to the familiar Gryffindor whose brown hair was a mess. His soft chocolate eyes were glazed in horror of being caught past curfew. His gaze broke from Professor McGonagall to notice me for the first time, carrying his invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map. James and Fuchsia were caught past curfew together.

"Alright, take a seat." McGonagall stated. Fuchsia and James reluctantly followed her order and took a seat on the oak chairs that stood in front of them. I took this as a chance to flee back to Ravenclaw Tower. "Not so fast, Ms. Weasley. Take a seat next to Ms. Bones." I sighed in dismay as I sat down next to Fuchsia.

"Professor McGonagall, I had nothing to do with whatever they were doing!" I hysterically pleaded. "Please, allow me to go back to bed."

"I'm sorry Ms. Weasley but you and Mr. Potter being out at the same time is very suspicious." McGonagall broke away from my gaze to stroll over to Filch who was smugly leaning against the wall with Ms. Norris.

"Where did you find Mr. Potter and Ms. Bones?" She asked Filch.

"I found them in the dungeons." He answered conceitedly.

"Snogging no doubt." I muttered under my breath. Fuchsia turned towards me, her mossy green eyes shooting me a horrific glare. "You're not denying it." I murmured again, assuring her that her glare had no affect on me.

"Professor McGonagall," Fuchsia stood up from her place and turned to glance at McGonagall. "I refuse to be condemned for something I didn't do, so I will tell you what happened. I needed to go to the bathroom, so I left my house to go to the nearest one, down the hall. I also saw Ms. Weasley," She pointed at me, "Stealing James' cloak, but she ran away before I could do anything about it. So, James and I just talked until Filch caught us." She gave me a haughty smirk before returning to her seat. Talking seemed to have a different meaning now.

"Professor McGonagall, I wasn't anywhere near the dungeons with them. I can prove it! Go see if Poncy is absent from his nook. I sent him to deliver my letter." McGonagall pondered this for a moment.

"Mr. Filch, would you please find Poncy, please." She asked. Filch gave a brief nod and scurried into the hall.

I looked over at James whose head was hanging. Was he really in love with this girl so he wouldn't tell the truth for my sake? Just as I thought that, James spoke up.

"Professor McGonagall, I can vouch that Rose wasn't in the dungeon. I lent her my cloak earlier today, as well." He said meekly.

"Okay, Rose you may leave along with Mr. Potter. Ms. Bones will stay." McGonagall led us out as Fuchsia gave a look of disgust to both of us, and an extra look to James that said, 'it's over.'

* * *

We went through the shadowy corridor until we made it to the Grand Staircase. "Here are you things back." I said while slipping the invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map into James' hands again.

"Thanks." He murmured in response.

"I'm sorry I broke you two up."

"It's no problem, really. Like you said, my mum would have killed me if I got too friendly with a Slytherin. Getting caught snogging her just knocked some sense into me. I understand now why we shouldn't be friends with them; they are lying and deceitful scum. I promise I will do the same for you, to protect you from getting hurt by any of those awful gits." I grimaced at the thought of James breaking up me and Scorpius, even if we wanted to be together. What was I saying? I could never do that to my dad, he would explode if he found out his daughter had even a crush on a Slytherin. I only thought Scorpius was cute and I doubted he liked me like that, anyways. I hoped.

**A/N: I know I said I wouldn't post until 5 reviews but I was only torturing myself and my faithful readers that way. I will have to live with the fact that most people only read and not review, even if they liked the story. So if you liked my story, follow it or add me as a favorite author since I'm proud to announce a sequel coming after this. So please review. ****DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own the characters or places, JKR does! :D**

******~Review and tell me what punishment Fuchsia should get for being out late and lying to the headmistress!~**


	10. A Green Handkerchief

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 10: A Green Handkerchief _

I stood alone in the bright seventh floor corridor the next day. I glanced at my watch, eleven fifty-two. Eight minutes before Scorpius was supposed to meet me. Light flooded the halls from the expertly placed torches and the mammoth sized windows that directed the light to shine on the ground as mirror images of the windows.

At night, the castle looks so much more ominous than it really is. In the sun the stone floors and walls are just as golden as the sun's rays; the gray stones lighten to a cheerful vibrant yellow. At night the ash-colored stones turn to an eerie black, which supports the illusion that the floor doesn't exist.

I paced down to the end of the corridor when a familiar face rounded the corner from the other side, just not the face I wanted to see. Lorcan came into view with his blonde hair in his usual disarray. His hand clutched a textbook to his side. "Why aren't you in class, Rose?" He asked maliciously.

"I'm on my free period. How about you? It seems like you have class now." I retorted.

"Slughorn placed me in an independent study using his copy of _Advanced Potion Making_, you know, the edition sixth years use." He answered haughtily.

"Shouldn't you be in the library or something for that?"

"I would rather be up here, it is quieter, but it seems you ruined that particular aspect." Lorcan scowled at me, his blue eyes like a hurricane.

"Lorcan, why can't you at least be nice to me, I'm helping you here." I exploded back through my gritted teeth.

"Help me? I didn't need your help! Lysander just got a little paranoid about the Greenhouses and he won't let me go get the hellebore since he thinks I'll go on a rampage and destroy everything I touch." Anger surged through him as he finished his spiteful remark and he dropped his textbook by the wall.

"Looking at your attitude now, I think you would!" I countered.

"I don't need to deal with you!" Lorcan reached into his pocket to pull out his wand and pointed it at me. "I don't need your help, only Lysander's, but he is being a lovesick git! _STUP-!_"

"_EXPELLIARMUS!"_ A scarlet light whizzed past my ear from behind me, causing my fiery red hair to blow into my face. The spell hit Lorcan in the chest; his wand flew out of his hand and landed a meter away next to his textbook. "Back for a rematch, are we, Scamander?"

I turned around to see the source of the scarlet light. Scorpius strolled up next to me with his wand clutched in his hand. His hair began to separate from the slicked back hairstyle to a more laid-back style with his hair beginning to part down the center. He was beginning to look hotter everyday. I knew I wasn't supposed to think that about Draco's son, my dad would kill me if my crush grew anymore, but I couldn't help it if it did.

"I don't need any bloody rematch! All Slytherins cheat, using illegal spells while dueling and unforgivable spells during their lives." Lorcan spat at Scorpius with venom coating every word he said. "All of you make me sick," Lorcan subtly broke his gaze away from him to look at me, "even the ones who even hang around Slytherins like you."

"Last time I checked Serpensortia is a legal dueling spell." He calmly retorted. "Now walk away, Scamander, before I make you run." Scorpius shifted his wand to point at Lorcan again.

"Empty threats, Malfoy?" Lorcan laughed malevolently.

Scorpius coolly flicked his wand as he said, "_Waddiwasi."_ With that, Lorcan was thrown backwards and hit the stone wall. "Now would be a good time to fly away to your little nest in the west tower." Lorcan eagerly abided by grabbing his wand and textbook and scurrying down the corridor out of sight.

"What was up with that?" I asked.

"Last year we had to do dueling and I was paired up against Scamander. I used the Serpensortia spell and apparently he is afraid of snakes and instantly backed down, claiming that it was an illegal spell for dueling and it didn't surprise him that I used it since, and I quote, 'All Slytherins are deceitful liars, Why would you have a house like that, a house that teaches students to lie and be sneaky?' Lorcan even started trying to get McGonagall to get rid of that house completely. Of course she didn't agree since some students wouldn't fit under any other house but Slytherin."

I pursed my lips as I learnt this information about Lorcan. It sounded like a big deal for the school, having a student rebel against all of Slytherin and the people who hang out with them. Why didn't Lysander tell me in the first place?

"Are we going to have a lesson?" I inquired.

"Yeah, why else would I be here for?" He answered.

"So what classroom are we going to use." I asked as I began walking down the corridor.

"None. All of the classrooms up here are being occupied by Peeves. You definitely don't want to run into him." I began walking back towards him.

"Then where will we practice?"

"You have little faith in me, Weasley." When he said that, he began pacing in front of a large empty wall. A section of the wall began to morph. Smooth stone turned into rough wood. A magnificent door appeared before us. My mouth dropped, wondering how this was possible. Well, when you can do magic, anything is possible, I supposed.

Scorpius opened the great door. "Ladies first?"

I sauntered into a large room with mirrors surrounding the walls. Some old dummies were thrown into a corner while the remaining area was open except for one side that contained a small desk and chalkboard. "This place is amazing."

"Yeah, my dad told me about this place, the Room of Requirement." Scorpius shut the door and stood next to me. "It only comes when you need it." He paused for a moment then continued, "So let go to the teaching area?" I had to laugh a bit. This room was really supplied for our needs if it had a teaching area.

I followed Scorpius to the little desk and chalkboard. I gingerly took a seat and look at Scorpius again. "So, from what I know about this is that the professors are on high alert," He began, "they will keep a close eye on the herb. From my experience, if you want something to never leave you sight you need to carry it with you."

"Carry it with you? Are you saying Professor Longbottom is carrying the hellebore in his pockets?" I asked in disbelief, my first pick pocketing attempt failed, how could I expect to pass this time when it really mattered?

"It is a theory, but yes, I think he has it." Scorpius pulled out a green handkerchief from his pocket to show me. "This is how we are going to train." Scorpius placed the green square on the desk in front of me. "I will carry this in my pocket and I want you to steal it without me detecting you. So this will be an out-of-the-classroom task."

I lifted the handkerchief with my hand. "How am I going to get it?"

"Any way you can think of, there are charms, regular pick pocketing, knocking out then stealing, and distractions. I would recommend not knocking the professor out though." I nodded in agreement as he took the mossy green handkerchief from me and stuffed it into his pocket so a little still poked out.

"Can you give me any tips beforehand? I requested.

"Nope, I need to see what you would do and correct you on as the lessons go on." He replied. I began to mope and use my best puppy dog eyes again. Scorpius looked at me disbelievingly, "Alright, Weasley. I will give you a tip if you stop doing those eyes." I smiled at him in triumph as he opened his mouth to speak. "Be sneaky."

My smile disappeared from hearing that obvious hint. "That was not a tip!" I told him with false anger.

"You said a tip; you never said it couldn't be simple." A smirk grew across his flawless pale face as he started for the door.

"You are so despicable sometimes, you know that?" I quickly ran after him, my red waves tossed behind me.

"I know. It's one of the perks of being a Slytherin." I stopped mid-stride and pulled out my wand and pointed it at his back.

"_Aguamenti._" I whispered and a jet of water doused Scorpius.

"What was that for?"

"For not giving me a better hint." I playfully smirked at him.

"You want a better hint? Okay here is one. Duck!" A jet of water flew from his wand and sprayed me.

"Not what I meant!" I yelled back to him.

"I know. I'm still not going to give you another hint." Scorpius lifted his wand to his hair and whispered a spell were warm air shot out of the tip of his wand, drying his clothes and hair.

"Could you please dry me off, too?" I pleaded.

"I will if you don't catch me on fire next." He said lightheartedly.

"I promise." Scorpius strolled up to me and whispered a hot air charm to dry my hair and robes. "Thank you."

"I would say the same, but you caused this." Scorpius headed for the door once again and I followed. When we exited the Room of Requirement disappeared and we separated to head to our next class.

**A/N: Yay! I kind of like this chapter. It explains more of Lorcan's past that will come into play more later in the story. It also has a bit of fun in it, as well. So, I think I'm about almost halfway done this story. I don't want to make a story so long that as soon as someone looks at the chapter content they won't even try reading it. So as always, RRRREEEVVVVIIIIIEEEEWWWW! (If you couldn't understand that, it said REVIEW!) Or add me or my story to your favorites! ****DISCLAIMER: ****I don't own the characters or places in **_**Harry Potter**_**, JKR does! :D**

**~Review and tell… uhhh… I'm getting bad at this… Just Review!~**


	11. Awakening my Mind

**A/N: Sorry I accidently picked the wrong chapter but I fixed it now! ****:D**

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 11: Awakening my Mind_

Curfew came fast. After my encounter with Scorpius I found myself falling for him- hard and fast, the world around me would speed up until I see him and my world would slow down just for him. At the same time Lysander was falling for me at the same rate. I couldn't bear hurting him, he was my best friend. How do you tell your friend you don't like them like they do to you? I was going to have to tell him at some point, but I couldn't bring myself to do that right now.

I sat motionlessly in the Ravenclaw common room, alone. My emotions were befuddled and it was messing up my homework. My usual O's were dropping to E's and my parents would never know why since I've been lying about them. I shifted my position so I was lying down on the large blue couch facing the stairway leading to the dormitories. I wished someone would walk down those stairs and explain to me why I was so perplexed. Astoundingly, my wish came true.

Light descended the stairs growing as the student reached the bottom. The light faded from the tip of the student's wand when he reached the bottom. Lysander put his wand away and came to sit beside me. My auburn hair brushed Lysander's leg as he sat by my head. "Why didn't you tell me?" I spoke softly as my eyes began to feel heavier.

"Tell you what?" He asked back.

"About Lorcan and his hatred of Slytherins and people who like Slytherins."

"I didn't think of it, really. But Lorcan started hating Slytherins after he lost a duel against Scorpius Malfoy. He also attempted to brew a Draught of the Living Dead potion for him to drink, but I failed to get the ingredients for it." I was shocked at this new fact but I had to stay emotionless. But I definitely was wide awake now.

"Do you think you could get Lorcan's potion book." I inquired.

"It's late, maybe we should do that tomorrow."

"No," I insisted, "just please get it." Lysander went back to the boy's dormitories and came back a moment later with an ancient leather-bound book. It smelled like musty parchment but it was still a potion book. I sat up as Lysander took a seat next to me. "Do you mind if I flip through it?"

"Not mine to give the permission to do that, but we went this far with to get the book, might as well." Lysander shot me a crooked smile as he handed me the book which I accepted graciously.

The book had Lorcan's handwriting all over the margins. On a few pages he copied potions recipes from more advanced books. I flipped mindlessly to the back cover to see a rather interesting potion he copied down. "Have you ever heard of a Vol Auctorita potion before?" I questioned as I glanced at the potion recipe.

"No, can't say I have." Lysander then craned his neck to look that the potion with me.

"This potion is rather barbaric. Asking for a newborn dragon's blood and unicorn hair's soaked in a murderer's blood."

"This potion looks like dark magic to me." Lysander took the book back and closed the cover.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting it back where it belongs." He stood up and started for the dormitories.

I ran in front of Lysander cutting him off from the stairs. "Shouldn't we at least find out what it's for?"

Lysander's eyebrows furrowed. "Rose, this looks like very dark stuff, I don't know if I want either one of us to read it now."

"Please?" I pleaded with him innocently.

"Fine, you can read it but I won't." He tossed me the book as he turned around back towards his seat on the couch. I opened the back cover again and read the script as I walked back to the couch to sit down.

_**Vol **__**Auctorita**_

_1 pint of Felix Felecis _

_7 hinkypunk hairs _

_5 Unicorn hairs soaked in the blood of someone who has committed murder_

_3 dragon eyes _

_2 pint of blood from a newborn dragon_

_A wand from your enemy_

_Start by bringing the Felix Felecis and dragon blood to a boil for five minutes and twenty-three seconds. Add the hinkypunk hairs with the dragon eyes and add to the potion. Stir with your enemy's wand, two full stirs clockwise, three counter-clockwise, and two back-and-forth in the center. The liquid should turn from orange to black and thicken slightly. Add the blood-soaked unicorn hairs and stir once clockwise and twice counter-clockwise with a wooden spoon. The potion should have a shiny sheen to it and be as thin as water with a tongue of fire in the center._

_**WARNING: **__Only drink a sip or risk extreme mental meltdown, confusion, and extreme hatred for others. Risk of complete madness and death._

I reread the potion again. It didn't say its use but it looked like Lorcan had an overdose of this potion. "I believe the potion's name is in Latin. Do you think you could translate it?" I past the potion book to Lysander who hesitantly took it back and read the script.

"'Vol' has no meaning in Latin or in any language, I think. But 'auctorita' means authority or power. So, it can give the drinker some dark power of some sort." Lysander placed the book back in my lap before sighing and laying his head back on the couch.

"What ever this does, Lorcan wanted its effect badly and took an overdose. The side effects match what he has been feeling. Last year he had meltdowns in classes, right?" Lysander gave an epigrammatic nod. "Also, he had confusion on the train and complete hatred towards me when I'm trying to help him."

Lysander looked at me once again. "My bloody brother overdosed on a dark potion! For Merlin's sake can't anything be easy for me?" I comforted Lysander as he buried his face in he hands.

"When we make the Draught of Peace he will be better. It will clear his mind and he will realize what he's done. It's like a sleeping potion for his brain, all we have to do is awake his mind-" My jaw dropped. I figured it out. All the letters I got from Lysander were telling me not to cure Lorcan. "Why don't you want me to cure Lorcan?" I asked hesitantly.

Lysander dropped his hands from his face and looked at me again. "What are you talking about? I want my brother back more then anything in the world."

"You remember the letter I showed you while I was in the Hospital Wing?" I asked him.

"Yeah, that letter still confuses me since it was my handwriting but I didn't send it, at least I don't remember I did."

"Do you share an owl with Lorcan?"

"Yeah, we do, but his handwriting is different from mine as you can see in the book." I glanced at the handwriting in the book again. It was similar to a letter I got but I couldn't remember which one.

"I'll be right back." I ran up the staircase and turned into the girl's dormitories. I slowly walked to my trunk making sure I didn't wake up anyone and I opened the trunk and pulled out every letter I received that wasn't from my family. I then ran back down and placed all my neat letters on the take except for the one I crumpled in my hand which I flattened out the best I could.

"You got that many letters warning you not to get the hellebore?" Lysander's eyes grew into saucers just looking at the perseverance he (or who ever my secret author is) had to try to keep me from stealing the hellebore.

"Yep and I'm still in it if you are."

Lysander and I opened each letter and compared it to the book's writing. Nothing seemed to match until I picked up my last letter. It was a perfect match, even up to the _tittles_ on the i's.

'_Meet me at the Whomping Willow at noon, don't be late.'_ was the match.

Could this mean that Lorcan was the one trying to kill me? His attitude towards me seems to support that theory since he almost Stupefied me again today.

"Um, Lysander. I don't mean to be any more of a downer to the news we both got today, but I have bad news. It looks like your brother tried to kill me."

**A/N: Now we are getting to the good parts, I built up the questions and mysteries and now they are being answered and solved! It's making me excited about the end, too, since I know what's going to happen and I can't wait to see what you think of the ending! By the way, I used an interesting word in my story, 'tittles.'(I **_**italicized**_** it if you want to look back and find it.) A tittle is the dot on the i. I thought I would use it and spread the worthless knowledge! **

**So, as always ****review****, tell your friend, family, dogs, cats, the monsters in you closet, anyone who you think would like it and review! Also, remember if you want to keep up with this story, follow it. If you want to keep in touch with my writing, follow me! ****DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing… D: But JKR does! :D**

**~Review and tell me what you think about some of the answered questions or any questions/mysteries that are killing you and you want to know really badly and I'll make sure to add that explanation for you in one of the chapters!~**


	12. Checkmate

**PLEASE NOTE:**** IF YOU READ THE PERVIOUS CHAPTER WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE CHAPTER 9 GO BACK AND REREAD IT, I ACCIDENTLY UPLOADED THE WRONG CHAPTER AND IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO MISS OUT ON THE BEST CHAPTER SO FAR.**

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 12: Checkmate _

I walked down the second floor corridor to head to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, (D.A.D.A. for short.) I couldn't help but to think about that night when we figured out that Lorcan overdosed on a dark potion as I sauntered down the hall.

It had been awhile since Lysander and I last spoke. That night, Lysander refused to believe his brother was trying to kill me, he was obviously in denial. I swore to myself that I would let this cool off before I tried to talk to him again. After I assumed it calmed down, it heated back up again. Every time I past him to go to my next class he speeds past me, not letting me exchange one word, or expression.

From the opposite side of the corridor, a Slytherin walked towards me. She strutted past me then stopped. She quickly turned around and grabbed my hood, and yanked it as hard as she could. I was jerked back with the force of the pull. Her hand drop from my rope and was repositioned on her hips as she glared at me while I turned to face the culprit. "What do you want Fuchsia?" I asked annoyed.

"What I want is for you to stay out of my life." She said to me, seething.

"I was happily obliging until you tugged on my robe." I retorted.

"Well, let's just say that James and I are back together again." A malicious smirk spread across her face as she flipped brunette hair behind her shoulders. "Basically, what I meant to say is, don't you dare try to break us up or I will break you neck." I sweet smile spread upon her evil little face.

"James would never go out with you willingly again." I burst back.

"Who ever said he was willing? Love potions work way better anyways, especially the ones from your uncle's and dad's joke shop. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, was it?" Fuchsia's sly smile appeared once again as she turned around to depart toward the dungeons. Fury surged through my veins; she really spiked James' pumpkin juice. I reached for my wand in my pocket. I grasp the thin wooden handle and pointed it at her back.

"_Furnun-"_I began but lowered my wand. I couldn't do that, it wasn't me. I would have enjoyed seeing her face burst with awful boils, but that wasn't in my nature to do such a cruel thing.

I promptly continued to my class trying and failing to disregard what hideous event just took place.

…

I walked out of D.A.D.A. distraught and detached. Who would make someone love you by using Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world? Clearly Fuchsia would. I lost all respect for her that I ever possessed.

I continued down the hall until I saw a familiar face. Scorpius was talking to a bunch of his friends. His platinum hair was completely different, it just positioned itself where ever it wished, and it was very cute indeed. I noticed something green in his pocket, the handkerchief! It had almost been a month since I last tried to steal it by using a summoning charm, which failed miserably.

I examined this situation. He seemed busy with his fellow Slytherins and his placement seemed perfect for me to slid past and grab it.

I collected myself and took a deep breath as I rounded the corner to walkover to the group. But to my dismay they began to disperse, going to their next class. My heart sank as Scorpius continued down the hall, his back towards me. I gathered myself and quickly scurried behind him.

I could hear his footsteps that were in sync with mine; his breath was also synchronized with my own. It was an ideal set up. I reached my hand out to just barely touch the green handkerchief before a firm porcelain hand grabbed my wrist. "I thought you forgot, Weasley." He teased as he released my wrist so it dropped to my side again.

"I didn't forget." I lied. "I was waiting for you to forget."

"I never forget anything." He smirked, his white teeth flashing at me. "If anything the longer you take, the more alert I am."

"Then I will try again soon." I responded.

"I don't think you would, Weasley."

"Don't test me, Malfoy."

…

After my encounter with Scorpius, I went back to my dormitory and swiftly changed out of my robes and into a comfortable sweater and jeans because of the unpredicted cool weather we have been getting. My favorite sweater was tan, white, and pink horizontal striped. Each line alternated thicknesses. My jeans were somewhat faded at the knees but that made it look better on me.

I ran my fingers through my crimped ruby hair to quickly brush out any snarls from the day and headed down to the Great Hall. There was and hour before dinner and most students spent it playing Wizard's Chess in the Great Hall. It could be a fun game, though it was quite barbaric at times.

The corridor heading to the Great Hall were wide and had ashy-grey stone bricks on the walls and floors like every other passageway in this school, but this one contained many windows that the others could not possess. I looked at ground expecting to see the usually golden rays from the sunset streaming through the window, but there wasn't anything. I walked to one of the windows and gazed out. Snow. Fluffy flakes of snow were falling down. It was early December but I still didn't anticipate it yet. Every cold flake bunched itself on the window sill. Winter was definitely on the way.

I entered the Great Hall to see three games of Wizard Chess in progress. Scorpius was of course observing a game on the Slytherin table with a few others. He didn't change his clothes but did take off his Slytherin robe that revealed his grey sweater vest with an emerald Slytherin emblem in the left breast. His silver and jade tie was tight around his neck and was tucked into his vest neatly.

The green handkerchief was also visible. Maybe now was the right time to steal it. From the methods he gave me charms and pick pocketing didn't work. Knocking out Scorpius was definitely not a possibility since A) there would be witnesses and B) I wouldn't hurt him, ever. Distractions were the last option I had.

I thought a minute while sitting at the Ravenclaw's table. My mind pondered many possibilities, many could get me expelled. I looked up at the enchanted ceiling where equally fluffy snowflakes, like outside, were falling then disappearing. I was down to nothing when the perfect distraction popped in my head, it was a little risky but I was confident it would work.

I stood up from my seat and mad my way over to Scorpius who was still watching the game with two other observers. There was no doubt in my mind it would work. But there was also a slight chance of humiliation if it failed. I looked around at the many chess games around me and decided to have a bit of fun with this by using some chess terms.

I left my post at the Ravenclaw table and made my way over to the Slytherin table. I stood a couple meters away from Scorpius and he seemed to notice my presence and looked up at me nonchalantly. "Check." I calmly said as I strode over to Scorpius, one of his blonde eyebrows rose slightly.

I grabbed his tie and pulled it out from his vest and wrapped it around my hand a couple times getting a good grip that caused his head to lean closer to me.

Then I did the unexpected. I kissed him. My lips pressed against his and Scorpius didn't pull away, even as the students around us hollered and whistled at us. I would of thought he enjoyed it, but I would be wrong and just upset myself more.

This was the perfect time to make my move. Silently, my free hand went down to his pocket to retrieve the handkerchief. My attempt was successful as I clutched the green handkerchief in my hand.

I pulled away from Scorpius and let go of his tie. His grey eyes were wider and questioning, but I just smiled at my victory. I spun around and walked towards the exit then stopped mid-stride before turning back to him. "Checkmate." I smiled as I waved around the handkerchief watching the look of surprise spread on his face while he checked his pocket for the handkerchief I had in my hand.

I turned around again with a grin lighting my face as I continued out of the Great Hall while dropping the handkerchief on the ground and leaving many confused faces and one completely stunned behind me.

**A/N: I love this chapter! :D I also want to dedicate it to my sister who 'loves' (hates) romances. :P Love ya, sissy! Anyways, I thought this would be the perfect time for a first kiss! I thought it was cute! So as always, tell your friends, family, and random hobos about this story! Follow it, or follow me and just don't forget to REVIEW! ****DISCLAIMER: ****Last chapter, I forgot to mention that the potion recipe I got was from ****Not_the_half_blood_prince**** at , though I did alter it a bit. I also do not own anything. JKR does… :D**

**~Review and tell me what you think of their first kiss!~**** :D**


	13. Setting the Date

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 13: Setting the Date_

After my victory, I ran down to the empty dungeons to think about my actions. Scorpius was indeed as shocked as I everyone else. I leaned against the damp stone walls and slid to the floor to think about my victory.

I didn't know if what I did was incredibly smart, or the opposite, incredibly stupid. But why would it matter if it meant anything? He only assumed it was a kiss to distract him long enough to swipe the handkerchief. I really wanted him to realize it was something more, but my dad would kill me if I went out with a Malfoy.

Footsteps echoed down the dim dungeons, growing louder with each waking second. I quickly stumbled up to my feet again waiting until the person left before I went down to pout again. Sadly, I realized this student wasn't going to leave me be.

Lorcan turned the corner to see me standing against the wall. "I see you're snogging Malfoy now." His tone was more vicious than normal. I looked down at my feet; I really didn't want to explain myself to him.

"I wasn't snogging him, it was just a kiss. It was just a bet with one of my friends." I replied while reestablishing eye contact with him.

"Well, you seem to only have two friends here, Malfoy and Lysander. Sadly both don't want to be your friend; they both fancy something more." Lorcan choked out the last sentence, not wanting to admit his brother had feelings for me. My heart pounded in my chest. Scorpius really did like me, too! But so did Lysander.

"How did you know I kissed-"

"Snogged Malfoy? Simple, I was there." He retorted with fury.

"Does Lysander know?" I hesitantly asked.

"Not yet, but by dinner he will know." A spiteful smirk appeared upon his face.

"Don't tell him!" I pleaded.

"That lovesick brother of mine is ruining my life! He hates me even more than before. If he finds the truth about you, he will disperse some of this new hate of me to you!" Anger surged through his body again. I backed away from him as I felt for my wand in my pocket. It wasn't there; I forgot to put it in my jeans. I was helpless if he pulled out his wand.

"Lorcan, please, just calm down." In my attempt to soothe his fury, I seemed to agitate it more. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at me to my disappointment.

"Don't tell me to calm down you daft twit! My life is crumbling around me!"

"It isn't my fault! Please... just put down the wand." I beseeched.

"Never, _Densaugeo_!" I quickly ducked from the spell and crawled behind a suit of armor. Lorcan cursed under his breath and walked towards the suit of armor and pointed his wand at it. "_Incendio!" _Now fire burst from the tip of his wand and began heating the armor. The heat spread to my hands, slightly burning them.

"Lorcan! Stop!" I ran away from the suit of armor and hide behind the corner. Tears streamed down my face. Every encounter I had with Lorcan got worse the next time. He came around the corner and pressed his wand to my neck.

"Here's the deal." He spat at me. "Either you tell Lysander you snogged Malfoy or you will be haunting the third floor bathroom with Moaning Myrtle. And if you tell him about this meeting, I can guarantee a stall for you." With that he turned around and walked away, still enraged. This time I slid to the floor to cry.

* * *

I walked into the Ravenclaw common room; my eyes were red and irritated from my tears. Lysander was on the couch reading his potion textbook. I took a deep breath and sat beside him. Lysander began move away from me as I sat next to him. I quickly grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down. "We need to talk." This time he acknowledged my existence for the first time in a month. "We can't go on like this."

"I know. This is childish of me. But the truth is that I didn't want to face the truth that my brother wanted to hurt the girl I like." He wasn't making this any easier for me to tell him I kissed Scorpius. Tears built up in my eyes as I looked at him.

"That's another reason we needed to talk. I wouldn't be able to do that, I don't think I like you in the same way you like me." A tear streamed down my face as Lysander looked at me with wide eyes. "I might have led you to think I did, but it wasn't intentional. I-I k-kissed Scorpius, I l-like him. I'm sorry." The last part was inaudible since my voice broke.

Lysander's expression killed me the most. He tried to cover up how disappointed he was, but didn't succeed. "No, it's my fault. I wanted you to like me so I just took everything you said and did as a sign that you liked me back."

A weak smile appeared on my face, as I tried to reassure him. "Maybe one day I might return the feelings."

"I can hope." He looked at me with a genuine smile upon his face that made a huge burden drop off my shoulders.

"I will get the hellebore this month. I promise." I leaned over and gave Lysander a hug. He was hesitant to return it but it didn't matter.

* * *

Dinner came and went but everyone was to stay seated as McGonagall and the other professors debated something at the front of the Great Hall. My mind was wandering towards Scorpius. His thoughts were doing the same since he couldn't stop looking at me with his mysterious grey eyes. Heat flooded my cheeks as turned away from his watchful gaze.

McGonagall returned once again to her golden dais and fixed her glasses as she began. "It has been awhile since a dance graced our school. We are proud to announce a Christmas Ball coming up two weeks from today. But I have to limit the dance to second to seventh years with an average of at least an E and since the first years do not have an average they must sit out, though no homework will be awarded to them." Squeals of excitement echoed through the Great Hall along with cheers from the students allowed to go to the Christmas Ball. "Dates that are first years acceptable. That will be all. You may return to your dormitories." The crowd of students dispersed to go to their common rooms and the professors did the same, except for me and Scorpius.

Scorpius walked over to me and took a seat across from me. "Distractions might be your strong spot, eh, Weasley."

"What do you think?" I smiled back at him.

"I think you won't be able to steal your herb by snogging the professor." A smirk spread across his face.

"I did not snog you, Malfoy. It was a simple kiss to distract you." I corrected him.

"It definitely did."

"Why didn't you pull away from me?" I asked as I leaned onto the table.

Scorpius was frazzled at my question. "I was in shock."

"So shocked you didn't hear the other people whistling at us?"

"I-I…" I laughed at his attempt to cover his mistake.

"You don't need to fully explain it to me." Scorpius sighed and looked back at me.

"If you want my advice, the ball would be the perfect time to swipe the herb since all the professors will be too consumed in keeping the students in order to notice a hand in their pocket." It was brilliant. Well, almost brilliant.

"That is almost perfect."

"What do you mean 'almost'" he inquired.

"I'm a first year." I sadly replied. "I'm not allowed to go."

"That can be easily fixed, but you have to allow me to help you make your potion." I contemplated this for a moment before I spoke.

"Fine."

"Okay, then. Weasley? Will you go to the Christmas Ball with me?" Excitement flowed through my veins though I didn't show it to him.

"Yes," I answered nonchalantly, "I will go with you."

"Great, the date is set."

**A/N: Sorry it took me longer to write this chapter. But the date is set. So I really want to see some more reviews and favorites. So REVIEW. ****DISCLIAMER: ****I don't own anything! :D**


	14. The Final Warning

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 14: The Final Warning_

_**1 AND ½ WEEKS LATER…**_

It was two days until the most awaited event of the year arrived, the Christmas Ball. Every girl who was allowed to go to this occasion boasted to their friends about the most magnificent gown they received or the most amazing date they acquired. Sadly, my worries couldn't be these petty things. I had a real mission to complete, with the help of Scorpius, of course, though it came with a small price of letting him come with me when we cure Lorcan.

My free period was spent in the Great Hall with Lysander and Albus, who seemed to be turning into good friends. Most of their conversation hovered around the topics of Quidditch, going home for Christmas, and other very boring things. No matter how hard I tried to join in they blocked me out again. I guessed that their conversation was private.

I stood up from the long Ravenclaw table and grabbed my Herbology book and notebook off the table. "Hey Rosie. Where are you going," asked Albus as he turned towards me for the first time since the beginning of the period.

"I need to visit the library," I told them, "hopefully; I will find a copy of _Hogwarts, A History _for a bit of light reading. Maybe read about the Chamber of Secrets. My dad said it was quite interesting until he got caved in with his loony professor of the Dark Arts and a large segment of discarded basilisk skin." Lysander gave a nod and looked back to Albus who was about to say something.

"Alright, see you later then?" Albus asked while pushing his overgrown brown hair out of his eyes.

"I'll see you again after you get a haircut." I responded teasingly as I left for the library.

As I took a last glimpse at Albus I noticed that he turned to ask Lysander if a haircut was really necessary. I quietly laughed to myself when Lysander agreed with my statement as I walked to the fourth floor library.

* * *

I entered the vast library I gave a curt nod to Madam Pince before continuing down the infinite rows of antique shelves and tattered books. I took many quick glances to each passing row as I walked towards the Restricted Section in the back of the library.

"Let's see here," I quietly murmured to myself, "Invisibility Section, Dragon Section, Legal Section… ahh, the Reference Section!" I walked around the corner to see a student with oddly familiar blonde hair pull out _Hogwarts, A History_ from the bookcase. I guessed he was a fifth year or sixth year by appearance. I quickly backed up around the corner so the bookcase obscured his view of me so I could examine the familiar student further.

He opened the cover of the worn copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ and scanned it for a chapter before quickly glancing away from the book to look around his surroundings, making sure he was alone. As his face turned towards me, my mouth dropped open. I believe my eyes. I instantly realized who this student was. Lysander Scamander.

He was sixteen by his looks, still wearing Ravenclaw robes and tie, his light blonde hair was as long as Albus' mop of russet hair. He quickly pulled a faded envelope out of his pocket and placed it in the book and closed the decrepit cover and placed in back in its original spot before pulling out a gold chain around his neck.

I hastily revealed myself from behind my hiding spot and walked up to him to grab his shoulder and turn him to me. "Why are you doing this to me?" I exclaimed while I watched his expression change into a look of uneasy worry. "I should ask a different question. How are you doing that? I mean, I just saw you in the Great Hall, a younger version at least."

He glanced down at his chest and gently picked up a small golden pendant with an hourglass center. "This isn't how I meant this to play out." He began to explain. "You were supposed to read my letters." He grabbed the book back from the shelf and flipped to the chapter on the Chamber of Secrets and pulled out his letter. "I was leaving you these letters to warn you. You mustn't get the hellebore."

"Why not? You're the one asking me to get it!" I retorted while hiding how confused I was.

"Well, yes and no. I _was_ asking you to do that, but not anymore." Lysander responded.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I inquired more.

"Do you not recognize this?" He said while holding his necklace's pendant to dangle in front of my face so I could see every detail. "It's a Time-Turner. Your mum even used it when she was here."

"She never mentioned that to me, but…" I paused as I realized how neatly things were falling into place and beginning to make sense. "Hold on. When you use it, it's possible for a Marauder's Map to pick up both of you, the current you and the past you, I mean."

"I suppose, since both of us are in the same time period." He said while rubbing the nape of his neck.

"I'm getting off subject here, why don't you want me to get the hellebore anymore?"

"For a couple reasons, though most I can't reveal any details or risk upsetting the time continuum or something. Professor McGonagall would have a fit if she even finds out about our encounter. So, the number one reason is to save myself a lot of regret and mental pain-"

"Regret? For what?" I innocently asked.

"Rose, I can't tell you, the time continuum thing applies to every detail so I have to be vague. That's why my letters were one sentence or a bit more. But as I was saying, my second reason is to save the future I'm living in now."

"What's wrong with it?"

"My brother has gone mad! Causing Slytherin to crash and- aww for Merlin's sake! I can't believe I just told you that. I probably just disrupted the timeline." Lysander dramatically rested his head :Don a shelf of one of the bookcases.

"If you are worried about the continuum so much there is nothing else I can do but complete my destiny, whatever it maybe, no matter how corny it sounds." I replied as nobly as I could.

"Please, Rose, this will have to be my final warning to you. Don't do it. An image haunts my mind and the after-effect killed my hope in-." His pleading voice broke off, leaving the last word inaudible, though I believed he said _us_.

"I have to, Lysander. I can't risk an unknown future." He gave a nod that exposed a defeated feeling as he glanced to his Time-Turner which was running out of the fine sand rapidly as each grain fell through the tiny opening. His eyes widened and he looked back to me with panic.

"At least, let me tell you something. I was scared and confused back then. I couldn't process what was happening- I froze and I'm sorry, I truly am. I know I could have stopped it, but I was still in a state of shock-" His last words were cut off as his pendant spun around and emanated a bright white light that engulfed the sixth year Lysander and he instantly vanished to allow me to be alone again in the Reference Section of the library, my mystery writer was now waiting in the future in desperate hope that I would ignore the younger him.

**A/N: There was a review for the last chapter questioning if they are too young for a date. Probably, is my answer. But technically, it is not a date since all they are going to do is steal the herb then leave. Basically, what they have now is just a crush, nothing big- yet.**

**On a different note, sorry it took me so long to post a new chapter, I had a bit of a writer's block but my ideas are flowing again, just not as fast so expect a tiny delay in my chapters. Also, my laptop's availability has become limited. Sorry about that.**

** As always; REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, follow the story or me, and spread the suspense. ****DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing! :D**

**~Review and tell me what you think!~ ****:D**


	15. Details

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 15: Details_

I awoke in my bed with my nerves churning in my stomach. Tonight was the big Christmas Ball. For me though, it meant the stealing from a professor and my parent's dear friend, Neville Longbottom. Stealing the hellebore was not the only event I planned on happening tonight. I also want to brew this potion and give it to Lorcan before things got worse. Even if I still need to mention it to Lysander.

A shiver emanated through my body as I remembered that the older Lysander said something bad was going to happen to me tonight. I had to do this though; I couldn't disrupt the time continuum by backing out.

I tumbled out of bed and looked around. The dormitory was empty; every student had left already for breakfast. I quickly threw on my Ravenclaw uniform and grabbed my mahogany wand off my night stand.

I walked over to a mirror and looked at myself. My hair was a mess, it could have been a giant fireball, by the looks of it. I pointed the tip of my wand towards my hair. _"Redomo."_ I said letting the mass of my hair twist and turn itself out of its unruly hairstyle. Finally, my hair settled into familiar smooth orange waves that cascaded down my back until it reached the middle of my back.

"Nice trick." A voice said from the doorway. I quickly turned around and expected to find Lorcan standing there, but to my relive he wasn't. "Jumpy today, Rose?" Lysander laughed as he walked into the girls' dormitory and sat on the edge of my bed casually.

"I'm sorry, Lysander," I sighed as I sat next to him, "I'm nervous since I'm going to steal the hellebore tonight at the dance." Lysander's eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"It slipped my mind, I guess." I sheepishly replied.

"At least give me the details of what's going to happen."

"Well, this is going to sound selfish of me, but I would also like to brew the Draught of Peace tonight while all of the professors are distracted by the dance. That means I need someone to set up the caldron and ingredients in the Room of Requirement. Maybe set up some restraints, too." The last sentence I murmured inaudibly to myself before I began again. "Lysander, can you do that for me?" I pleaded at last.

Lysander sighed as he looked away from me. "Rose, this is the biggest event to happen to this school since the Triwizard Tournament."

"I know. But isn't saving your brother more important?" I asked.

"Fine, I'll do it. I'll have Lorcan help me, too, so you don't need to worry about being bothered by him on your date."

"Date? I don't have a date." I responded with full honesty.

"Come on, Rose! The whole school is humming that you snogged Malfoy so your definitely going with him." He retorted with frustration.

"I'm not on a date with him! He is taking me so I can steal the hellebore and get back to you."

"Fine, at least he isn't going to be there."

"Well," I said while remembering the deal I made with Scorpius, "in order for him to help me, he needed something in return. I promised him he could come watch us make the potion."

"Do you hate me?" Lysander moaned and he laid back on my bed.

"No…" I said while copying his action.

"You do if you're inviting him."

"I kind of had to."

"How bloody brilliant." He groaned.

"Well I have to go to breakfast. Maybe you should do the same or else you will get us in trouble since you aren't allowed in here." I smiled as I began to stroll towards the door. Lysander moaned again before following my lead out the door and both of us went toward the Great Hall.

* * *

When we entered the announcements were over and mail had already been received. I sighed as I made my way back to my usual seat and Lysander took his next to the expressionless Lorcan. I took my silver fork in my hand and grabbed some of the pancakes that remained on the platter. I then drowned the pancakes with a layer of the sweet syrup and enjoyed the taste of the pancakes that danced around my tastebuds.

A group of girls a couple seats away from me began whispering and looking at me. I turned around to check if they were indicating to another person but I was at the end of the table. Maybe there was a ghost? I had no idea until a brunette haired girl in a loose ponytail pointed a slim finger in my direction. I assumed she was a sixth year.

A girl with auburn colored hair shoved a rather large into the brunette's slender arms and sent her over towards me. "Hey." She said awkwardly. "My friend, Christina," she looked over her shoulder toward the auburn haired girl who gave a curt wave to me as the brunette looked back to me, "found this package that an owl just left here. We are assuming it's yours."

She extended the package towards me and I took it off her hands. "Um, thanks… I didn't catch your name."

"It's Nicole, and you're welcome." She smiled at me and walked back to her friends.

I looked back at the package that was given to me. I hesitantly unwrapped the box from its paper. I opened the package and instantly saw a letter from my mum which I gladly unfolded to read.

_Dear Rosie,_

_I got a notice that you were invited to the Christmas Ball. How wonderful! I figured since you aren't a third year you couldn't go shopping for a dress in Hogsmeade, so I sent you my old dress from the Yule Ball. I made some mild alterations to make more age appropriate, of course. It still might be a little large but the _Reducto_ charm should fix that. Remember to have fun! But not too much fun…_

_With love,_

_Mum_

I tossed the note aside and dug deeper in the package and soon enough and elegant pink dress with many layers that cascaded down the skirt of the dress. My mom was right that it was a bit too big, but I could fix that.

I placed the contents back in the box and got up to head back to Ravenclaw Tower. I was walking down the corridor when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I dropped my box and turned around. I saw Scorpius and his hand were up in the air slowly returning to his side.

"Skittish much, Weasley?" He laughed and I bent down to retrieve my package. "What's in the package." He asked while reaching for it.

"It's my dress." I answered as I pulled it way from his reach. "And I'm scared that a professor is on to my plan."

"What? I'm not allowed to see it?"

"You will see it when everyone else does." I responded teasingly.

"Fine, but we still need to talk about last minute details about that plan." He said while leading me out into the grounds.

"Alright, where are we going?" I asked after being led past the demonic Whomping Willow.

"To the Quidditch Pitch, it's more private." He answered as we enter the Pitch that was indeed empty.

"Alright, so here are the details- where are you going?" I yelled at Scorpius who was retreating to the locker rooms. I quickly set down my dress and ran after him.

The locker room was clean with few lockers against the wall. The air was clear of any unpleasant scents. One sweet smell lingered around my nose, it was distinct, and was definitely Scorpius. I turned around and there he stood holding two broomsticks. "What are you doing with those?" I asked hesitantly.

"We are going to make this more interesting by flying a bit." He gave me a brief smirk as he handed me a broom and headed out into the sun-filled field while I slowly followed.

"I-I can't f-fly." I stammered. Scorpius just chuckled a little and turned towards me.

"It's simple."

"No, I can. But I won't." I quietly added.

"Why not? Don't you love the wind in your hair and freedom?" He asked.

"Of course I did, it's just that I had a bad experience with flying."

"You can't hide from your fear; you need to get back on the broo-."

"I fell fifty feet off my broom when I was six." I exploded at him as I threw the broom to the ground. Scorpius stared at me, shocked.

"I understand that falling can be scary but you can't let it rule your life." He calmly replied.

"I have tried. But I couldn't." A tear escaped my eyes but I quickly wiped it away.

"Fly with me, Rose." Scorpius reached out one of his pale hands towards me and I hesitantly looked at it. "Take a chance." This time I took his hand. A smile broadened on his face as he mounted the broom with me behind him. He gently pushed off the ground and I instantly tightened my grip around his middle and buried my face in his back.

Air whipped past us, my hair flipping around behind Scorpius as he picked up speed. I felt his muscles tense and relax as the navigated the broom higher and higher. "I-I… can't do this anymore! Take me down!" I pleaded.

"We are almost where I wanted to go." He reassured me. I closed my eyes and in no time at all we landed. I loosened my grip on Scorpius and opened my eyes. We were on the other side of the lake. I could see the castle stand majestically against the blue sky and green mountains. The lake sparkled from the morning light and distinctive splashes were originating from the Giant Squid who was tossing around in the water.

"It's beautiful." I said in awe.

"I thought you would like it." Scorpius smiled back at me as we took a seat under a large willow (the non-violent type.)

"So the details for tonight are simple. Create a distraction near Professor Longbottom and I'll snag the hellebore while he's distracted."

"Is that it?" He inquired.

"Well, then we leave and go to the Room of Requirement where Lysander will have started the potion and we will finish preparing it. Then, give it to Lorcan and hopefully he will be his old self."

"I think Lorcan is nicer to me under the influence of his illness. It's weird. A side effect maybe? Be nicer to Slytherins." He laughed at his own joke and I smiled back at him.

"Think you are ready for tonight?" I asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He retorted. "Shall we head back?"

I took a deep breathe then replied. "Yes."

As we glided through the air my fear melted. Something about being with Scorpius made my fears disappear and it made me enjoy my first flight in six years.

**A/N: Getting to the end of the story! Three or more chapters left! I'm happy with this story. Anyways, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Follow the story if you like it or follow me if you like my writing! ****DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing! **

**~Review and tell me what you think!~**** :D**


	16. The Christmas Rose

_**REREAD CHAPTER 15 FOR A REFRESHER (IF NEEDED.) ****~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 16: The Christmas Rose_

I took my mum's elegant rose-colored dress in my hands and examined the material that was soft and silky in-between my fingers as my hand grazed the fabric. The subtle layers ruffled around the skirt. I always admired this dress; I never thought I would be able to wear it. I quickly shedded my Ravenclaw robe and slipped into the smooth gown. It hung off me a bit, it was definitely was made for my mum and not myself.

I took my wand in my hand once again and pointed it at the dress. _"Reducio."_ The fabric instantly tightened around me, the dress fit me perfectly. I glided to the mirror and inspected the fit. I looked almost as wonderful as Mum, but she always would look better in it than me. Now that my outfit was in order, it was time to fix the disarray of my hair.

My ginger hair was a mess from my flight with Scorpius. I lifted my wand again to my hair. Before I could say my incantation a voice sounded behind me. "Have you ever tried doing your hair without magic?" the voice laughed.

"Of course I have." I countered while turning to the voice. Lysander was sitting on the edge of my bed. He wore his favorite pair of faded jeans and a black Weird Sisters tee shirt. "Haven't bothered to dress up at all?" I mused.

"What's the use of putting on a monkey robe if I'm going to be hidden in the Room of Requirement all night?"

"Very true." I snickered back at him as I lifted my wand to my hair again. "_Constructum." _Strands of my red hair whipped around in the air and arranged itself in a hairdo similar to what my mum wore the night of the Yule Ball. I sauntered back to my bed where I picked up a white rose and placed it behind my ear, it contrasted perfectly with my fiery hair. "So? What do you think?" I asked as twirled around for Lysander.

"I think you put too much thought in an outfit used to only steal an herb, but otherwise beautiful." Red flooded my cheeks as I looked away from Lysander.

"I had no choice, my mum sent me this." I smiled at him. "Thank you, by the way, for setting up the Room of Requirement. You are brilliant!"

"I better be." He replied sarcastically.

"I better meet Scorpius outside the Great Hall now."

"Alright have fun on your 'date.'" Lysander sighed.

"It isn't a date." I said as I headed to the door and stopped to look back at him. "Also, you should stop sneaking in the girl's dormitories." I teased.

"Well, you snuck into the boy's dormitories before." He retorted.

"I did that only once, but this is your second time sneaking into here."

"Whatever," He said as he brushed back his golden hair from his sapphire eyes, "I have a job to do, so see you in an hour." With that Lysander left to set up the Room of Requirement.

* * *

I walked down the stairs to the Great Hall watching heads turn from every fourth year and fifth year, it was obvious they were in awe. I looked ahead to Scorpius and received an expression from Scorpius, his mouth turned to an O at the sight of me. My cheeks tinted red as I made my way towards him. "You look amazing." He said while straightening himself out again to be calm and collected.

"You're not too bad yourself." I commented indicating to his dress robe that contrasted with his shaggy platinum hair ideally.

"So, I scoped out the Great Hall and Professor Longbottom is actually wearing the hellebore." Scorpius said as we entered the Great Hall which was adorned wonderfully for the occasion.

Many decorated pine trees lined the walls. The ceiling was snowing gentle flakes that disappeared moments before it reached my head. The ground was enchanted to look like ice that caused many sixth years to try to skate across it but it took awhile for them to realize a gripping spell was casted on the ice and it caused them to fall by their sudden stops. A stage was set up at the head of the room ready for the entertainment who just took the stage.

Students cheered as the Weird Sisters took the stage and began one of their hit songs. I couldn't help but to feel guilty that I asked Lysander to miss his favorite band. "I'm going to get a snack I'll be back." I told Scorpius as I made my way to the refreshments.

I looked to see Fuchsia and a group of her friends laughing by the mini sandwiches. Fuchsia's smile faded when she saw me, typical Fuchsia. I could tell she hated how my dress flowed at my sides and how it was nicer than her simple icy blue gown. "How are you even able to come here?" I asked her, annoyed.

"Same as you. I have a date, with your cousin, if I remember correctly." A smirk formed on her face. Realization flooded through me. James was still under Fuchsia's love potion that she bought at my Uncle George's store. I turned away from her and searched for James around the room until I spotted him by the punch bowl. He looked at Fuchsia with enamored eyes like she was the new Firebolt 2000. I walked up to James and snapped my fingers in front of his face. I got no reaction out of him.

"James! Snap out of it." James blinked rapidly and turned towards me with his lovestruck eyes.

"Isn't she wonderful?" James sighed.

"She is awful!" I exclaimed.

"I don't care; I just see her pure beauty. I think I'm in love with her." My mouth dropped. She had to have used a lot of potion on him to get that reaction. I tried to remember what my mum told me as a cure of his love potions.

* * *

_I stood next to my dad in his study as he brought out an old cauldron and placed onto a small burner then took a seat on a squeaky wooden chair. The walls in the Burrow were old and yellow, still inviting and still home. I was four and at that age I spent most of my time with my dad. He reminded me a lot of myself because of the identical ginger tresses and his humor always made me laugh, even if he claimed he was serious. _

_"Remember, Rosie, my love potions are harmless, unless many vials were used on the same person. But if someone had a bit too much, a good ol' shock should do them some good. A nice zap from your wand would be ideal, maybe the lightening spell?." My dad told me as I climbed on to his lap._

_"Ron!" my mum yelled from down the stairs, "You better not be telling Rose to harmful spells on people!"_

_"Your mum is psychic, she is." He quietly whispered in my ear before raising his voice so his wife could hear. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'm not."_

_"Check your remembrall," she began, "is it red?" Dad quickly removed his remembrall from his pocket and observed the smoke turn bright red._

_"Yes." He replied._

_"Well, you've forgotten not to lie to your wife." Mum retorted._

_"Sorry," he muttered as the smoke turned clear again, "so, no lightening, Rosie. Unless Draco's boy-"_

_"Ron!" Mum shouted up the stairs again._

_"Alright, Hermione!" He shouted down the stairs to her. "No lightening at all, Rosie."_

_"Why are you and Mum fighting?" I asked lightly._

_"We aren't fighting, Rosie. It's only a disagreement." Suddenly, Mum appeared in the crooked doorway. Her light brown hair was crimped around her neck, her favorite hairstyle. She wore a casual jeans and red sweater. A smiled spread across her face as she saw me sitting in Dad's lap._

_"That's right," her velvet smooth tone reassured me. "Your father and I will always love each other." She bent down and gently kissed Dad on the lips before turning towards me and bended down to whisper something in my ear. "Ice. Your father prefers the magic way out of situations more than muggle, but it works just as well." Mum kissed my forehead before going down to the kitchen again._

_

* * *

_

"Ice!" I yelled.

"Ice- the color of Fuchsia's dress that makes her look like an angel sent from above." James sighed again.

"Do you remember when we walked back from detention and we promised to help each other if they are getting involved with a Slytherin?" I asked with a bit of excitement in my voice.

"Yes." He said enamored again.

"Well, this is me helping you." I swiftly grabbed a glass of ice off the table and guided each crystal cube down his dress robe. James' eyes instantly perked up as he franticly sought to expel each cube from his robe. One glass square dropped to the floor and shattered; the rest followed and did the same.

"What the bloody 'ell were you thinking." James yelled at me.

"I was thinking this would happen." I said smugly as he realized he wasn't under Fuchsia's love potion anymore.

"Did I really say those things?" He sheepishly inquired as he rubbed the nape of his neck while I confirmed his nightmare with a nod. "I can't believe I even accepted those chocolate frogs from her."

"It's alright, I know you weren't yourself. You can go have fun now." I smiled at him as he fixed his shaggy brown hair.

"Thanks Rose. I owe you one." James immediately jogged onto the dance floor to dance with some third year girls. He was definitely his old self; he just needed a good shock. I smiled at him before victoriously sauntering back to Fuchsia.

"Well," I began, "you are no longer welcome here. James dumped you for a group of third years." I indicated behind me to James to see Fuchsia's porcelain skin tint red with anger. My job was done. I walked away from her and over to Scorpius who was leaning against the stage.

Fuchsia was not about to except defeat so easily. She drew her wand out of her purse and pointed it at my back. Her friends behind her giggled and clamored about what was about to happen. I instantly picked up the hint when I spun around, but I was too late.

Red sparks flew from Fuchsia's wand and hit my dress; ripping at each layer, shredding the thread that held some layers together. Even shredded my pure white rose as it fell to the ground. My dress was ruined. Layers hung off of my skirt lifelessly. The sleeves were nonexistent and the blouse part was slashed. Fuchsia haughtily put her wand away. But her deed didn't go unnoticed, I made sure of that. I held out my arms and yelled at her. "Why did you do that?" Fake tears began to form in my eyes until I looked down at my mom's ruined dress and real tear sprung from my eyes.

Everyone's head turned towards us. I used my arms to indicate again at my dress. "What? Unhappy with your makeover are we?" She hissed.

"Yes, very unhappy." I yelled back at her

"Then let me fix it." Fuchsia pulled out her wand once again. I patted my sides and to my dismay I didn't have my wand. Why do I leave my wand in my robes when I need it most? "_Diffindo"_ she yelled as the familiar red sparks flew from her wand. The sparks rushed at me.

"_Protego" _I voice yelled from behind me. The red jet bounced off the force field and hit a professor in the chest. Fuchsia fumed as she took a seat at a table. I spun around to see Scorpius had positioned himself beside me. He leaned close to my ear and whispered something. "Professor Longbottom was hit. I think you should check if he's okay." I pulled away from him and look at his pointed face questionably. He gave me a brief wink then continued speaking in a normal tone. "I think you've had enough of this ball anyways, when you're done we will go to the seventh floor."

It took me a moment to understand what he meant. My eyes lit up as I ran towards the group of fourth years who were help Professor Longbottom to his feet. "Are you alright, Professor?" I inquired innocently.

"I'm fine," he began as he shook off the fourth years, "though I can't say the same to my robe or to your dress. Your dress was fairly familiar to me; your mum's no doubt. It's a pity, that is." Professor Longbottom was right. It was a pity to lose such a brilliant dress. But he seemed to have gotten the strongest part of the spell. Minor strands of my dress was torn and shabby. His robe was a mess; his dark dress robe was torn at the collar, and if he had any pockets they were ruined with each slash in the robe and cut into rubbish on the ice floor.

"Professor Longbottom!" McGonagall exclaimed while assessing the damage. "I relieve you from chaperoning the dance tonight. As for you Ms. Bones," She began while turning to Fuchsia who was unmoved by the event and was sitting at one of the icy blue table, "I suggest you take your date and head back to your dormitory." This caught the attention to many students as they gathered around and the band stopped playing.

"I'm sorry, Professor," another voice rang from in the crowd as James pushed his way into view, "but as I recall, Fuchsia came alone." He spoke confidently with a slight smugness in his words. This affected Fuchsia as she almost fell out of her seat.

"Professor, I-I- I came with James!" She said while pointing to my cousin.

"I didn't take you willingly!" He retorted.

"Yes you did."

"I don't believe using three love potions makes me willing." James added. McGonagall's eyes grew into saucers as she looked at Fuchsia, her deep crow's feet disappeared as her eyes opened wide.

"Ms. Bones. Have you made it your goal to get expelled? Because you are on your way to do just that. Love potions are not permitted nor using three on one student, that could be harmful. Casting spells at another classmate or professor, coming to the ball without a older chaperon, and up past curfew. I have no choice but to give you detention with Mr. Filch for a month and to take fifty points from Slytherin house." Slytherin students moaned and a group of third years even booed her.

"But Professor-" Fuchsia stammered.

"I don't want to hear it, Ms. Bones." Fushsia's perfect skin burned red again as she stormed out of the Great Hall leaving a crowd of students staring at her. "Alright, there is nothing more to see, move along." The crowd instantly dispersed as the Weird Sisters began playing again.

I sighed as I sat down at one of the tables and rested my head on the table. Professor Longbottom left with the hellebore. "Did you get it?" I looked up to see Scorpius who started to sit beside me, facing away from the table watching other students dance casually.

"No, Professor Longbottom left with the hellebore and I just forced a friend to miss his favorite band to prepare for its arrival." I softly replied as I rotated around to watch the band, as well. Scorpius' head bowed down to the ground.

"I don't think your luck ran out quite yet." I gave him a questioning look as he indicated to look at the floor with his grey eyes. I looked down and there was a flower that was pink with five petals in the midst of torn fabric It was fragile as little petals began to fall off. I gingerly picked it up along with the fallen petals. A smile grew on my face. In my hands, I held the hellebore. It was a miracle, this is why it is called the Christmas rose.

**A/N: Wow, that took longer than expected… but I hope it was worth the wait. I even made it longer than my usual chapters. So, I think there will be two or three chapters left in this story. REVIEW, favorite, follow… all of that stuff if you liked it! ****DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing! :D**

**~Review and tell me what you think!~**


	17. The Brewery

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 17: The Brewery_

**IF IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU LAST READ THE STORY REREAD THE LAST CHAPTER. THANK YOU AND ENJOY. =D**

I gleamed at the newly discovered hellebore in my hand. The feeling of accomplishment coursed through my veins with the faint hint of adrenaline from my encounter with Fuchsia. The Weird Sister's unique sound roamed the 'icy' Great Hall, which was flooded with the ecstatic students of Hogwarts.

My heart pounded as a gazed up to the Slytherin who was stationed beside me on the icy blue table. "Well, this night hasn't been for nothing after all." Scorpius said. "I also believe you have another friend waiting for you, Rose." My mind was befuddled with the night's lucky event that I forgot Lysander and Lorcan were waiting in the Room of Requirement for the arrival of the hellebore to get the Draught of Peace refined.

I quickly accumulated the decrepit fabric that was barely attached to my mum's old Yule Ball dress in my hand. The pastel pink cloth hung insensibly on me like various feathers ready to drift away at any moment. I retrieved my petite purse from the table and gingerly placed as many hellebore petals in the bag with the stem.

Scorpius leaned back on the table and glanced at my fruitless attempts to gather the petals with a mixture of amusement and dissatisfaction. "Ms. Perfectionist, you haven't got all night." He mused as he picked up another vivid pink petal from the ground and released in the bag where it gently settled with its duplicates. A light scarlet blush tinted my face as the petal landed in my purse. "Ready?" Scorpius smirked, his pointed face more prominent than before.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied as Scorpius took my hand in his and we departed from the party.

* * *

I excitedly jogged across seventh floor corridor, a perpetual grin appearing on my face as Scorpius lagged coolly behind by a couple of meters. I stopped and spun around gracefully in my tattered dress to address him. "Come on!" I yelled back to him. "We haven't got all night!" I mocked from his previous comment from the Great Hall.

Scorpius rolled his smoky eyes. "I believe I said _you_ haven't got all night, Weasley. I, on the other hand, have all the time in the world." A confident leer appeared again as he brushed passed me to stand by the assumed wall where the Room of Requirement held residence.

"Wait." I said. "I can't enter the room looking like this." I indicated to my shredded dress and chaotic orange hairdo. The look on Scorpius' face told me he agreed. What would Lysander think if I went in looking like the way I did? Most likely that someone had raised Lord Voldemort from his grave.

Scorpius removed his oak and dragon heartstring wand from his dress robe and pointed it at me and whispered a spell inaudibly. A lavender jet appeared from the tip of the wand and circled around me creating a magical curtain. The dress I wore seemed to be replaced with comfortable flared jeans and a light blue sweatshirt. My hair was tamed into my smooth wavy auburn locks. The jet seized to exist and I stood back in my original position.

Scorpius seemed to have done a quick change, as well. His elegant dress robe was replaced with faded jeans and green shirt with the Slytherin house logo on the left breast. He brought his slim hands to his platinum hair where he began to mess up his mane so my favorite messy hairstyle formed in its place. "You clean up nice, Weasley." Scorpius smiled.

"What? And I didn't look good before?" I teased back. Scorpius' eyes widened and his mouth grew agape.

"I didn't mean-" he stammered before I cut him off.

"I know what you mean. But I don't know about you, but I have a friend waiting in a secret room and I hate to leave him there any longer." I curtly pulled my hair elastic from around my pale wrist and wove my orange hair through the stretchy ring. I looked towards the wall. It quivered lightly as the door began to take shape and flood with the musty old door colors of the dirt brown and rusty gold hinges. "Ready?" I inquired to Scorpius who stood next to me again expressing nothing. He gave a prompt nod and reached for the door.

The door creaked open revealing the room. The area reminded me of King's Cross station back in London. The area was dazzling white and the train tracks were nonexistent, though. White columns were spaced out around the large room. My attention turned to the only colorful objects in the room. A grayish cauldron took residence on a white table in between two columns with build in storage shelves of ingredients. Also on the table laid the potion book and a cutting board where Lysander was concentrating on crushing the moonstone with a pestle and mortar.

"Hey, Lysander." I shouted over to him and ran towards the potion set up. Lysander glanced up from his work to look at me.

"Well," he said as he put down his powder, "welcome to the brewery that has a shocking resemblance to King's Cross Station."

"I was thinking the same thing." I laughed as I handed Lysander my purse, which he stare at with confusion.

"What the 'ell do I look like do you? I'm no housekeeper." He sighed in frustration.

"That," Scorpius began with irritation as he made his way towards the table, "is the hellebore if you even tried to open the bag, idiot."

"Watch it, Malfoy." Lysander began his retort, "You may have been invited here by Rose, but I could easily disinvite you because this is my brother in peril not you. I don't need him to overdose on a Draught of Peace again."

A keyword in that sentence caught my attention. "Again? What do you mean again." I looked at Lysander who was just as perturbed as I, but Scorpius seemed smug as he leaned against a column.

"Well, apparently the Room of Requirement actually had hellebore in the shelf."

"And…" I said, drawing out the story.

"I brewed some and well…" Lysander began to rub the nape of his neck and continued, "I think I got the measurement wrong. I guessed the vial of hellebore syrup was around five drops or so, but it was more seven drops… I didn't think it would change the recipe that much and gave it to him.

"Lysander!" I screeched. "You can't get that potion wrong! It needs to be exactly right or Lorcan would pass out! Wait. Where is he!"

"I found him." Scorpius sighed lazily and bobbed his head to the right. I looked over to see the split image of Lysander, out cold on a lounge chair.

"Lysander! He could die with two overdoses! Vol Auctorita and now this! What if he goes in a coma?"

"Jeez, 'mum'" He replied with air quotes, "I did more research and he is under the same affects of a Draught of the Living Dead and the cure to that is the Draught of Peace, we just need to get it right this time." I shook my head in discontent.

"This could end badly, but he's your brother. So I'll brew the syrup and you start the rest." We separated to our stations and Scorpius came to observe my work.

First I needed a flame and this when magic was the most helpful. I reached to my pocket. Nothing. My wand was still in my room, again. "I forgot my wand." I moaned.

"Need some sparks?" Scorpius teased from across the table. My mouth formed one of my own charming smiles. Of course, Lysander rolled his eyes. He apparently inherited some of his brother's hatred of Scorpius.

"Let the sparks fly." Lysander sarcastically yelled. Scorpius took a small step back while putting his hands up in submission. Scorpius pulled out his wand out of his pocket and slowly waved out a small flame.

"Thanks." I whispered to Scorpius and continued creating the syrup. I placed a simple syrup base on the flame and emptied the hellebore from the purse and watched the petals fall. The syrup thinned out as blue dye leeched into the substance. It was time to retrieve the flower.

I reached a finger into the syrup just to have my wrist grasped by Scorpius. "You don't want to scorch your hand, do you?" I shook my head; I had experienced a lot of pain in my life and didn't want anymore. His firm grip relaxed as he retrieved a vial and strainer from the shelf beside him. He stood beside me and poured the syrup through the strainer into the vial. His close proximity sent chills down my back though I ignored them for Lysander's sake.

"I need that syrup in ten seconds." Lysander said while staring at his cheap watch. I took the vial from Scorpius and waited until Lysander gave me the 'okay' to pour five drops into the mixture. The blue syrup mingled with the silvery potion as Lysander set his watch for seven minutes.

"I guess we should bring Sleeping Beasty over there, closer to the action." Scorpius snickered. Lysander, however, did not find Scorpius' comedy very amusing.

"Watch it, Malfoy," Lysander fumed as he pushed away from the white table threatening the potion to capsize, "he is my brother- more than that; he's my twin. If you dare to mock him, you are asking for an Unforgivable Curse to come upon you."

"Interference!" I declared before walking in between the two of them. This was getting extremely dangerous for the potion. Last thing we need is to find more hellebore. "Lysander, can I see you for a moment." I didn't even bother with a response; I grasped his wrist and guided him to the far corner of the immaculate King's Cross 'Brewery.' "Be honest. What's wrong with you? I didn't think you would bicker with him this much!"

"Well, I didn't realize how much of a git he was an hour ago." Lysander crossed his arms in front of his chest which was steadily pumping with each furious breath he took. "Honestly, Rose, have you noticed the guy at all? He's mental. He is risk the whole operation!"

"Which operation are you talking about, Lysander, really; the situation with your brother or the fact that I'm friends with Malfoy-"

"Friends? Is that what you're calling it? He is only use-" Lysander's speech froze, he knew what he said and I knew what he meant. And I snapped like a twig in the Forbidden Forest.

"You think he's using me? Using me? For what purpose would he do such a thing? To get to your idiot of a brother, Lorcan?"

"I didn't mean it, Rosie, please. We are experiencing a difficult time right now."

"Don't call me Rosie!" I quietly seethed. "I bet you didn't mean it, like my brother, Hugo, didn't mean to cut seven inches off my hair last summer while I was napping. And maybe it was as difficult as the time when I was six, James 'playfully' bewitched my broom. I plummeted fifty feet off my broom while I was airborne over the ocean at Shell Cottage. I almost drowned when the grindlows pulled me under the grey swells and began eating at my flesh."

I justified my last statement when I pushed the baby blue sleeve of my sweatshirt to my elbow and viciously rubbed my arm raw until various ferocious, crimson scars revealed themselves on the surface of my pallid skin. The teeth mark dipped rigidly into the tissue of my arm with unsightly pink puckering by every puncture hole. "Amazing what a collaborative effort between my mum's make-up and my dad's potion experience can create, a magical cover-up that conceals every marking."

"Rose- I didn't know." He spluttered.

"No one knows that story in as much detail as I just gave you and it will stay that way. You don't know difficulty unless you been in my shoes." As I finished my rant Lysander's watch beeped cuing the potions readiness.

"Hey, the potion has its signature silver smoke," Scorpius shouted over to us. "We should give some to Lorcan now."

"Alright." I shouted back to him and I pulled my sleeve back down my arm obscuring my ancient scars from view and turned back to Lysander. "Forget I ever said anything, let go back to the friends we were before Scorpius and I entered the brewery."

"Okay, sounds good." He replied, refusing to look me in the eyes, which I decided to ignore as we walked back to the table and Scorpius.

"You scoop up some of the potion," Scorpius began once we reached the white table, "and I'll grab the other Scamander taking a nap." He promptly jogged to Lorcan and began pushing the lounge towards us. Lysander grasped a metal ladle from the shelf and dipped it in the blue potion as Scorpius stopped Lorcan in front of us.

I opened Lorcan's mouth and Lysander poured the simmering sapphire liquid into his brother's mouth. Lorcan's eyes shot open at once but too bad the first words to come out of his mouth were 'Why the 'ell did you do that, you git!' This was not what you want to hear. You never want to learn that your friend's brother's illness was not from a mysterious potion; he was just naturally that evil before the first sip of the dark substance…

**A/N: Sorry about the super delay in my writing. I'm trying my best to balance out my life. So enjoy and savor this chapter. I estimate two more chapters. So review and tell me what you thing. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**


	18. Between Two Jets

_**A refresher is recommended for this chapter!**_

_**~Awakening the Mind~**_

_Chapter 18: Between Two Jets_

_Did he really just say that?_ I asked myself. I was traumatized at the unanticipated reaction from Lorcan. 'Gratefulness' was, perhaps, not in his vocabulary.

I turned to Lysander who was situated at my side. His blonde hair grazed over his forehead as he gawped at his brother in disbelief. Lysander's gaping mouth was the only answer I required to understand how he felt. This was not how this moment was supposed to work out in any of our minds. It should have been more like this:

_Lysander poured some of the shining sapphire potion into his brother's mouth. Lorcan's crystalline blue eyes gently fluttered open as the potion trickled down his throat. 'Hmmm…' Lorcan moaned as he awoke from his potion-caused sleep. It worked- the Draught of Peace brought Lysander's brother back to reality, all would be well._

The reality of this moment, however, was nothing like a whimsical dream. We would never return from this knowing everything was normal. There would be no frolicking through the Quidditch Pitch together in slow motion for us. No matter how much of a cliché that was; it was still a better fate then what was to come.

"Well congratulations, I'm back to normal." Lorcan toxicly asserted as he repositioned his gaunt legs to the side of the lounge to make standing up more accomplishable.

Scorpius' messy platinum hair stood in front of his mysterious gray eyes, but I could still see the prominent expression he held as he rolled his eyes as he stood behind Lorcan's lounge chair. It was no secret that they hated each other.

"What the 'ell's the matter with you!" Lysander exclaimed to Lorcan as he finally was able to squeeze out the words from his throat. "Didn't you say that a Draught of Peace would cure you?"

"Yes, I said it would. But, I believe you forgot to do something." Lorcan seethed.

"What? I followed the instructions to the point, it was a perfect brew!" Lysander exasperatedly exclaimed.

"You dim wit! Never did you once ask me if I desired to be cured. The Vol Auctorita was a one-of-a-kind potion. It guaranteed all the power of Voldemort. By drinking it, the power was duplicated in the consumer!"

"Why did you overdose on it, even after all the warnings?" I inquired before Lysander could solicit the information.

"Are you really that daft, Rose?" Lorcan laughed maliciously. "If I want power; I want it all. Not just the recommended amount!"

"But the things that it cost you, like your sanity, don't you miss it?" I spoke softly, avoiding anymore conflict.

"Did you mean sanity or ignorance, Rose? I am perfectly sane, just no longer ignorant."

"We can argue that, Scamander." Scorpius disputed adamantly. Lorcan jumped to turn to Scorpius.

"Dare to challenge me, Malfoy?" He seethed as he grabbed for his wand in front of Lysander, "Honestly, I don't care if you do, because either way… I will win." Lorcan's smug smile was enough to get Scorpius flamed enough to grab his wand.

I turned to Lysander. My eyes were stinging with tears that threatened to spill if something happened to Scorpius. Lysander's eyes were glazed over as he stared at the scene unfolded before him. "Lysander!" I whispered. "Stop your deranged brother!"

Lorcan turned back to me "Am I the deranged one here? I'm not the one socializing with the Slytherins!"

"Me!" I exclaimed in disbelief. Lorcan was visibly annoyed.

Scorpius rolled his eyes once again at Lorcan as he spoke, "Trust me, Rose, you're normal. You're not the one with the stupid grudge." Scorpius pointed his words at Locan. Lorcan, not appreciating the sentiment, glared back at him, which caused Scorpius smiled to himself.

"What I don't understand," I started, "is why you want Voldemort's power. After all, he was a Slytherin." Lorcan glared at me. His eyes pierced my skin with an unhealthy, defensive passion for the subject.

"Voldemort. I hate him entirely." said Lorcan matter-of-factly as he pointed his wand at me causing me to back up against a cold, white column. "He had the drive to do what he wanted. Like he wanted to get rid of Mudbloods; I want to get rid of Slytherins. His zeal is what I want. I want the same ardent hate for Slytherins as he had for the Mudbloods." I gazed at Lysander who was still processing everything before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Lorcan, why don't we just go home?" Lysander pleaded. His hand was outreached for Lorcan's wand but Lorcan pulled away. "I mean, Mum and Dad should be there. We can get the new editions of the Quibbler we missed out on. A vacation is what we really need. Please. Let's go." Lorcan pondered the thought. The expression of contentment flowed into his face. He might have appeared tough, but he seemed to be a mother's boy in general. At this point, it was a good thing.

Scorpius rolled his eyes at this display. "Lorcan, you have to be kidding me! All this hate and you're going to give it all up for your mummy? Come on!" Scorpius dropped his wand. The clinks bounced off the walls of the King's Cross Brewery, causing me to wince. He then proceeded to spread his arms so he was an open target. This caught Lorcan off guard. Lorcan grasped his wand with even more might. His knuckles turning white because of the firm grip. He then refocused his wand on Scorpius.

"Scorpius," I whispered gently so Lorcan couldn't hear, "Don't be stupid. What are you doing provoking him when Lysander is talking him down!"

"Having fun messing with the old Lorcan I know and hate."

"This is not the time for that."

"Seems like a perfect for me. Plus, he is a wimp. He could never hurt me, even if he tried." Scorpius whispered back with his cocky little smirk. "Hey, Lorcan. I dare you hit me with your best shot!" This was enough proof for me to tell that Scorpius was just as daft as I thought.

"Stop being a git and shut up. You can mess with him later."

"Never," he smiled, "this is too fun."

Lorcan mumbled something quietly to himself. A faint green appeared at the tip of his wand. I finally registered the spell as _Avada Kedavra. _"Scorpius, watch out!" I screamed. His eyes widened as he lunged for his wand. I never would have thought Lorcan, even with all his anger, could ever cast such a spell. How could he, even in his right mind? This was surely not Scorpius' idea of fun... I hope.

"_Stupify!_" He called as his red jet clashed with the Unforgivable Curse forming a foaming center. Scorpius brow furrowed in concentration, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. The florescent jets fluctuated between red and green before finally favoring the jade stream. Lorcan donned a satisfied sneer as he felt Scorpius' spell weaken. Scorpius braced his wand with both hands causing the jets to even out once again.

I glanced back at Lysander who stared at the altercation with astonishment. I opened my mouth to yell at him over the static emanating from the clash between the two enemies. "Lysander do something! He's your brother! Can't you contain him just a little! Knock him out or something!" Lysander whimpered as he saw what he needed to do. I thought I reached out to his inner hero, but he stood motionless with his speech impaired from the stress of this crisis. "If you won't do anything, then I will!" I slowly crept closer to the foaming center before stopping a meter before the spells. Foam spilled from the center ferociously like a rabid beast wishing to claim its first victim. My heart was racing with adreniline as I could sense the power of each spell. Obviously, the green jet sent an uncomfortable, more powerfu vibe that made be feel like I was being caressed by death.

I looked back to Lysander. My action had obviously caught his attention. He began beckoning me to come back to him but I simply shook my head. Scorpius, again, was losing ground as the red stream was consumed by the green. Lorcan was smug as he approached closer to Scorpius. "You underestimated me, mate. And that was your pitfall." His caustic tone cut deep as Scorpius finally realized that he didn't stand a chance against this powerful spell.

"Fine Lorcan, I underestimated you this time." Scorpius humbly admitted. "But just remember, after this—if I die or not—you have started something bigger than you think. A second wizard war, and I hope you're ready for it."

Lorcan's eyes narrowed as he focused more intently on his enemy. "I am ready." Lorcan jerked his wand sending a fresh burst of power towards Scorpius, sending him to his knees in order to brace himself. "I just hope that Hogwarts is prepared for what's to come."

I looked at the two boys. One boy I might never see alive ever again. The pain of that thought would decide my life, if I survived. I stepped closer to the jets that radiated a massive energy in the form of scorching heat. I breathed in, taking in the smell of ashes and fire emanating from the impact point—the smell of death. I stepped into the foam and felt the jolts of two spells hit me simultaneously. Each shoulder burned as I collapsed to the floor, accepting death as my caretaker as the world went dark.

**A/N: Wow, this took longer than I thought. I had to sort out my thoughts on how I wanted this scene to turn out. I had way too many ideas, but I'm happy I settled on this one. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER. I hope it was satisfying, so read and review. (Please no mean/cruel comments) :D **

**Disclaimer****: I own nothing of Harry Potter, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot… =/**


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